Pokemon World Championships
by ThunderJJ
Summary: It has been a few years since the Unova League had taken place, and Ash and his friends find out about the world championships that is occurring soon. They form a team and participate in the championships, fighting to rise to the top. Also around this time, a new evil organisation begins to take shape... Contains many OCs, as well as PearlShipping and ChessShipping.
1. Before The Encounter!

**Welcome to my first fanfic people! All I can say is that I hope you guys like it.**

**I can also take any sort of criticism.**

**Note: There will also be quite a few OC's in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**And now let the first chapter begin!**

* * *

"And victory goes to Ash!" said a green haired man as he pointed to the victor's side.

"Alright! Nice work Pikachu!" celebrated Ash as his yellow companion jumped into his arms. "Pika!" it cried happily.

The loser of the battle was disappointed in this loss. "Ok Zebstrika return!" said his defeated opponent as he returned his fainted Pokemon back into its pokeball. The guy placed the pokeball back onto his pokemon belt before walking up to Ash.

"That was a nice battle Ash! I hope we can battle again someday!" The trainer held out his hand.

"I hope we battle again someday too Steven!" said Ash happily as he shook his opponent's hand firmly.

Stephan sweatdropped and let his body droop. "My name's Stephan. Why does everyone always get my name wrong..." The boy wiped his forehead and straightened himself up again. "Anyways, I have to get going now. There's some stuff I gotta do! See you again sometime!" The boy began walking off into the horizon.

"Alright then, see you Stephen!" yelled out Ash.

Stephan cringed a little when he heard the wrong name, but quickly shook it off. "Trust me Ash, the next time we battle you're going down!" yelled back Stephan without looking back.

Before disappearing from view though, Stephan tripped over a boulder on the ground and fell down onto the hard earth facedown. He simply picked himself back up and continued to walk off.

Iris chuckled. To her, it was really funny. "Hey, that's pretty mean of you to laugh at something like that," said Ash. "But then again, you're always calling me a kid."

"That's because you are one!" said Iris mockingly.

"For the one billionth time I'm not a kid!" roared Ash. "I'm already fifteen!"

The tone Ash used scared Iris a little. You see, Ash rarely ever got angry over things but when he did, it was a bit frightening.

Iris recovered before saying, "Calm down a little Ash would ya?" in a teasing way. "You take everything so seriously. I was only joking!"

"Well the joke isn't funny Iris!" said Ash sternly. He crossed his arms and looked away angrily.

Iris decided that this was the time to stop. "Alright, I'll stop with the kid thing..." she sighed.

"You better..." mumbled Ash, still turned away with his arms crossed.

"You seem a bit miserable today Ash," spoke Cilan as he approached the two. "Why don't we have lunch now? I know that'll bring you back to your normal self!"

Those words caught Ash's attention. He turned around and looked at Cilan with a smile plastered on his face. "Yes please!" replied Ash letting the gluttonous side of him take control.

Cilan gave a hearty laugh. "I knew that would do the trick."

* * *

"We're finally here!" cried an overjoyed boy standing on top of a grassy hill. He was looking down from a high spot, at the vast and beautiful city below. "We're finally back at Striaton City!" He began jumping up and down excitedly like a small child.

"Don't you think you should calm down a bit?" called out one of the boy's travelling companions wearily. The speaker was halfway up the steep hill, walking exhaustedly to try and reach her friend on top.

"Don't worry Rose. He's just happy we finally made it back home after all that travelling," said the other travelling companion. "I'm happy we're back at home as well!"

"Well I suppose so..." mumbled Rose.

"Come on you two! Hurry up!" shouted the boy from the top of the hill. The two looked up and saw the boy bouncing around impatiently. They knew what was going to come next, and just the thought of it made them sigh heavily. "You guys take so long!" whined the boy. "I want to race you two to the pokemon center! Maybe I should just get a headstart!" So the boy sprinted off down the other side of the hill towards the city.

"He has too much energy...he's so hyperactive..." Sometimes, Rose would wonder how her friend could have so much energy. He was always in the mood for running, it was as if he was powered by unlimited amounts of energy.

Her other friend laughed. "That's him! Now let's go and run after him shall we?"

Rose wasn't very keen on the idea. She was tired after walking for about six hours straight, and she also hated running. Both of those reasons seemed good enough to say no. "Um...I'd actually like it if we could just walk Anna. I'm really tired."

Anna sighed. Rose always wanted to walk. She had the faintest idea why. Maybe it was because she was always tired when asked, or maybe it was just because she hated running? Anna sometimes found herself wondering why. "Very well then, we'll walk..."

* * *

"I've finished my lunch!" Ash spoke with his mouth full, some tiny pieces of food flying out from his mouth and onto the table. Those words surprised both his travelling companions. They turned and looked at Ash.

Ash flipped his plate forwards so that the inside was facing his two friends. Nothing was left on the plate, it was totally free of food. The thing looked like it was just washed thoroughly for about half an hour, the only thing missing was the shininess.

Both Iris' and Cilan's eyes grew wide in surprise as they stared the empty plate, totally dumbfounded. They only began eating two minutes ago. How Ash already finished a whole plate of food was just frightening. Maybe he was some sort of food eating robot? That would explain how the whole plate of food was downed so quickly.

"A-ash! H-how do you eat so fast?" stuttered Iris with a surprised voice.

"I've seen you speed through your food before but this just too quick!" uttered Cilan.

Ash swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking again. "I just ate quicker today so I would have some time to train my pokemon before we pack up and get moving again." He gave a goofy smile.

Both his friends sweatdropped. They should've known...

"Come on Pikachu! Let's go and train for a little bit while Iris and Cilan finish their lunch," spoke the boy as he stood up from his seat.

"Pikachu!" cried his mouse pokemon as it leapt onto his head.

Ash grabbed his things and then left the eating table.

"So that's why he was so quick today," mused Iris as she slowly looked up to the skies.

"I guess so," added Cilan. "You know Ash..."

Iris stared down back at the green haired man. She sighed. "Yep, I certainly do..."

* * *

"Haha! Got here first!" shouted a boy as he entered the pokemon center. He ran in and took a seat on one of the lounges. Everyone was silently staring awkwardly at him. The boy didn't realise the attention he attracted until he looked around. Every single pair of piercing eyes in the room were on him.

The boy blushed from the embarrassment. Who wouldn't after finding out people were looking at them after doing something unnecessary? It might even lead to them thinking that they were crazy. Not that personal opinions mattered...maybe...

After a few more moments of the awkward staring from everyone, they soon went back to their own businesses.

The boy let out a relieved sigh, finally free from the uneasy stares. "That was really embarrassing," he mumbled to himself. "I forgot yelling in a pokemon center can grab attention." The boy removed the bag from his back and placed into onto the ground. He then looked around the place some more, looking for his friends. He couldn't find them anywhere. "My friends aren't here yet. Might as well relax until they get here," the boy said to himself.

He thought the lounge had a back so he fell back to get comfortable. He was forgetting the fact that it didn't have a back at all.

The boy fell down backwards onto the ground with a loud boom. The ground felt as though it slightly shook, although it actually didn't. The boy wasn't an elephant after all...or weighed like one for that matter.

Everyone in the pokemon center looked up from what they were doing and stared at him again. By this point, some people were wondering if the boy just wanted to grab attention from others. To them, it definitely seemed like the case.

"Oww..." groaned the boy as he placed his hand on the lounge. He used it as support for slowly getting back up on his two feet. The boy dusted himself a little before looking back up and seeing stares from everyone in the pokemon center. They all had their eyes at him. He immediately blushed from the humiliation. Like before, everyone soon went back to his or her own affairs.

"Two embarrassing moments in a row...that's just great," murmured the boy to himself. "What's going to happen next...me slipping over a banana peel that someone just randomly dumped?" The boy sighed, and then glanced at the pokemon center entrance.

"When are those two going to get here...I wonder if something bad has happened to them..."

His thoughts were disrupted as the doors of the pokemon center entrance opened. He spotted his two friends strolling into the pokemon center, happily chatting with each other.

"We're here Jay," said Rose as the two came over to him.

"What took you two so long?" questioned Jay. "I was not having fun waiting."

"We were just taking our time walking here, right Anna?" She glanced at her friend beside her.

"Um yeah, we were."

"Oh, makes sense..." mused Jay. "I thought something bad might've happened to you two. Like someone might've abducted you guys. Or-or you two might've been run over by a car. Or-or-"

Jay's exaggerations were quietened by Rose. "Don't worry nothing happened," she said. "Like I said before we just took our time walking here. Nothing wrong with that right?"

Jay stared at them blankly, blinking thrice before saying, "Yes there is, I thought we were racing here."

Rose didn't have her attention on Jay. Instead, her attention was turned to the wall clock above the entrance. Jay also turned his attention to the clock. He saw the short hand of the clock pointed halfway between the four and five, while the long hand was pointed directly at the six. The time was four-thirty, it was getting kinda late.

"I have to leave now guys. It's getting a bit late, and I want to see my mum again after not seeing her for a long time now."

"Well in that case, we'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" said Jay as he waved his hands in valediction.

"See ya!" Rose waved to both her friends before taking her leave.

At that time, Anna took notice of the clock too. She was surprised at what the time was already, and it showed on her face.

"I better get going to!" exclaimed Anna. "Its nearing sunset already and I want to go and see my parents again too! See you tomorrow Jay!"

Anna waved bye as well before dashing madly out of the pokemon center. Jay was now standing alone. "I guess I'll go and get Nurse Joy to heal my pokemon now."

Jay walked over to the main counter of the pokemon center, where a Nurse Joy was standing behind.

"Hello Nurse Joy!" he greeted as he approached the counter. "Oh, hello there Jay!" chirped Nurse Joy. "I haven't seen you in a while. How'd your travels go?"

"It went pretty well," answered Jay. Some memories of his journey began flashing in his mind. "I gathered all eight badges in less than a month and then entered the league straight away afterwards. I only got up to being in the top sixteen though. I'm really disappointed with my performance. The rest of the time we just spent travelling around bits of Unova we've never been to before."

"Wait, we?" asked Nurse Joy, confused.

"Yeah, I travelled with my friends."

"Oh right, you travelled with Rose and Anna right? Also, I'm sad to hear that you lost in the league," Nurse Joy said with empathy. "I do hope you do better in the next league."

"Thanks Nurse Joy. I surely will do better in the next league."

Nurse Joy flashed a smile at him. "Glad to hear you're determined!"

"Yep, I most certainly am!" Jay gave the nurse his own smile. It looked a bit silly. Nurse Joy couldn't help but laugh.

After she stopped laughing, she proceeded to asking Jay, "So what brings you here today? Do you need your pokemon healed?"

"Actually, yes. I had an extremely rough battle with someone earlier and my pokemon are in need of some healing."

"I see. Now if you will, hand me your pokeballs so I can start fixing them back up to full health!"

"Sweet! Now to look for those pokeballs..." Jay fumbled his bag for his six pokeballs. After a while of gathering his pokeballs, Jay finally found all six of them and handed them all to Nurse Joy. "Here you are Nurse Joy. My pokeballs."

"Thanks! Now just wait patiently until I fully heal all your pokemon."

So then Nurse Joy walked through the automatic doorway and disappeared behind it as the doors shut on its own.

Jay waited patiently in the reception for his pokemon to recover. To keep himself occupied, Jay wandered around and took his time to examine the place.

After a while of gazing around, Nurse Joy stepped out from the doorway she disappeared through earlier. Now Nurse Joy had some sort of trolley she was pushing along, with six pokeballs neatly placed on top.

"Here are your pokemon! They are all healthy and fully recovered now!" chirped Nurse Joy happily.

"Thanks Nurse Joy!" Jay claimed his pokeballs from Nurse Joy's possession and then shoved them into his unzipped bag. He looked up again and saw Nurse Joy staring outside through the windows.

"You know Jay, it's getting pretty late now. I can see the sun setting! It would be best if you went back home, after all, your mum probably misses seeing you after that long while of being gone."

"She probably does," chuckled Jay nervously. Hearing the mention of his mum made him shiver a bit. Anyways, Jay bent down to zip up his bag, and then picked it up and wore it onto his back.

"I'll get going now. It's getting quite late and I need to get home now. Bye Nurse Joy!" He waved bye to her. "Bye Jay!" Nurse Joy waved. And with that Jay left the pokemon center.

* * *

"Pikachu, Iron Tail once again!" commanded Ash.

His pokemon partner transformed its tail into steel, leapt up high into the air, done a bunch of front flips and then finally slammed down its tail onto the trunk of a giant tree. The oversized plant shook fiercely from the impact of the attack for a few moments before becoming motionless again.

"Nice power Pikachu!" praised Ash.

"Pika pika!" cried his Pikachu.

"Alright Pikachu, now use Electro Ball!"

His yellow companion charged up a ball of electricity on it's tail. It then did a front flip and released the ball of electric at the tree. The tree shook fiercely once again.

"Great work Pikachu! I see your attacks are getting stronger!"

"Pika pika! Pikachu!" it proudly said.

Ash and his pokemon buddy suddenly heard someone calling out to them.

"Ash! Pikachu! It's almost time for us to leave! Pack your belongings before we leave!" called out a male's voice. Ash knew whose voice it was.

"Aww man!" said Ash disappointedly. "We didn't even get much done!"

"Pi pikachu!" said his yellow friend. "Pika pika pi!"

"I guess you're right Pikachu, we can continue our trainin' tomorrow. Well, if you want to."

"Pikachu!" his yellow rodent said in blissfulness.

"I take that as a yes!" said Ash with a laugh.

"Ash! Pikachu! Come on, hurry up and get here! We don't have all day you know!" came a female's voice.

"Alright! Comin'!" replied Ash. "Come on Pikachu, let's go!"

His yellow companion hopped onto his left shoulder. "Pi pika chu!"

Ash then grabbed his bag off from the grassy ground and then went off to where he last heard the voices of his two friends.

* * *

Jay was standing still right in the front of the door that would lead him inside his own home. He was paralysed, due to the fact that he knew something he feared would be waiting for him inside. No, it wasn't a scary pokemon. No, it wasn't a cute pokemon. He wasn't scared of any pokemon...well other than one of those humongous legendaries, but he knew that wasn't what was waiting behind that door. What he actually had a phobia for was the hugs his mother would give him if he went inside. Yes, the hugs. His mother was one of those people who gave you a really tight hug that would make you suffocate if you didn't say so. A very sad way to die indeed.

"I'm finally home..." said Jay. "I just fear what's going to happen to me if I step inside the house..."

**Start of Flashback**

"Bye Anna!" waved Jay as he stepped out of the bus.

"Bye Jay!" waved Anna as Jay left the bus. As soon as both of Jay's feet were on solid earth, the bus shut its doors and left Jay on the sidewalk as it drove off.

"Home sweet home!" cried Jay happily. "It feels good to be back!"

With his hands gripping tightly onto the straps of his backpack, Jay advanced forwards, towards the maroon coloured front door of his house.

The ebony haired boy stopped when he reached the entrance of the structure he called home. He randomly looked down at the welcome mat he was standing on and saw that it had become tremendously dirtier than the last time he saw it.

"I wonder if my mum's been keeping the house clean since I've left..." pondered Jay.

Jay then looked around the rest of the front yard. "The rest of the place does seem well kept though..." It was totally clean and pretty, as if a perfectionist has cleaned the house. Well, Jay's mother was quite a perfectionist at times, and even that was an understatement some times, if that was possible.

He turned around and nervously faced the front door again. As much as he didn't want to enter, he knew that he had to eventually. _Its time I went inside now_ thought Jay. _Better to get it over with...or die earlier... _The ebony haired boy knocked on the door firmly a couple of times. He hesitated a bit but proceeded to call out. "Mum! Open up! It's me, Jay! I'm home!"

Almost as if the door was voice activated, it opened slowly, and revealed a female figure on the doorway. It was Jay's mother.

"Hi mum!" greeted the ebony haired kid to his mother. He had the most awkward smile on his face.

"Jay! It's so good to see you again!" squealed his mother as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Very tight in fact. "I missed you so much sweetie! I was getting very lonely everyday without you around!" She then planted a bunch of kisses everywhere on his face. She was like a kissing machine.

"Umm...mum...it's feels so good to see you again but is this hug really necessary? I'm going to die from the lack of air getting to my lungs," said Jay as his face began turning deep blue. It almost resembled blueberries.

"Oh, sorry sweetie..." apologized his mother as she released him from her murderous hug. "It's just that I'm so happy to see you again!"

**End of Flashback**

Jay gulped with anxiety. "I hope I don't actually die this time..."

Jay knocked firmly on the door a few times. He was silently praying. _Please Arceus..._he thought. If your listening to me now, _don't let my mum give me a hug this time around..._

It was then that the door swung open and it revealed a lady figure standing on the doorway.

"I'm back mum!" smiled Jay. _Please let my praying work..._

"Sweetheart! It's so good to see you again!" squealed his mother as she grabbed him and forced him into a powerful hug. Jay was taken by surprise. He thought this would never happen again, but he should've known it would. After all, he was expecting it beforehand.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" said Jay's mother in felicity. "More than I can put in words!" After she spoke those words, she tightened her hug, making Jay gasp for air more than he already was.

"Need...air..." said Jay, his voice growing fainter each second. He sounded as if he was about to die. "Oh, sorry dear," said his mother as she finally released her grip on him.

Jay was relieved to finally have some air again. He was inhaling and exhaling as much air as he could. Breathing never became that urgent to him before, that was until a few seconds ago.

"Now sweetie, why don't you go to the living room and watch some television while I prepare you something to eat?" suggested Jay's mother.

"Ok mum," replied Jay as he was still gasping heavily for large amounts of air.

* * *

"Are we all good to go?" asked Cilan before they started walking. "Yep! We're ready and we're good to go!" answered Ash enthusiastically.

"Ok then, let's start walking!"

Before anyone took a step, Iris yelled. "Wait!"

"What is it Iris?" asked Cilan.

"Why are we moving away from this campsite if it's almost sundown? Shouldn't we just stay and camp here for the rest of the night? There's no point in gaining a little extra distance at this time."

"Well Iris if we start walking now, we should be able to get to Striaton City by nightfall. We can then rest there."

"Wait, we were close by to a city all this time?" asked Ash.

"Well yes Ash, that's correct," replied Cilan.

"Then why didn't we just have lunch there?"

"There are numerous reasons for that..."

"What numerous reasons?"

Cilan really didn't want to share the reasons. "Don't worry about it, let's just start walking to Striaton City before it gets to late for that."

So then the trio consisting of Ash, Iris and Cilan began making their way back to Striaton City.

* * *

"Anything else you want sweetie?" questioned Jay's mother. Her voice sounded really soothing and caring.

"No, that's all," replied Jay sleepily.

"Alright then, I'll go get you that glass of water you wanted now." His mum then walked back to the kitchen, disappearing from Jay's doorway view.

_I'm so tired. I should go to sleep now _thought Jay as he yawned loudly. He then closed his eyes and began to doze off. He slept in peace for the first minute before being awoken from his slumber by a tickle on the nose. Jay opened his eyelids and saw that it was his mother.

"Just letting you know that your glass of water will be on your bedside desk."

"Oh ok."

"Good night and sweet dreams sweetie."

"Good night mum."

After those words, Jay's mum left him alone in his bedroom so he could go to sleep peacefully.

* * *

"Lucario use Aura Sphere!" ordered Jay.

The Aura pokemon then formed a blue sphere of aura using it's paws and then fired it at the opponent's pokemon.

"Gallade dodge the attack now!" yelled Jay's opponent furiously.

But the call was too late. The Aura Sphere attack made contact with Gallade's body, inflicting some damage to it while also filling the stadium with thick, black smoke as if twenty smoke bombs have been thrown into the place.

The smoke eventually settled and revealed that Lucario has defeated it's opponent. The opponent's pokemon was flat on the ground with swirls as eyes.

"Gallade is unable to battle, so the winner of this battle is Jay!" announced the referee with the yellow shirt on.

The whole crowd was cheering, whistling, screaming and waving flags for Jay, who was the victor of the match.

"Jay! Jay! Jay! Jay! Jay!" chanted the crowd repeatedly.

Jay was waving to the crowd. "I thank you guys for your support! I would be here without it!" he yelled to the crowd.

"Jay! Jay! Jay! Jay! Jay!" continued the crowd.

It was then that he heard a faint sound in the background. It sounded like...an alarm clock...

Something hit Jay on the head, which abruptly brought him back to reality. Jay woke up and immediately sat up straight on his bed.

"So that was all a dream?" wondered Jay as he looked around at his surroundings. No stadium, no crowd cheering. He was back in his own bedroom. "Darn! I was hoping it was not a dream but it appears as though it is..."

Jay then wondered some more. "And what hit me on the head...?" He then looked around his bedroom for a few moments and found the answer. It was the alarm clock for sure. Jay knew no other explanation for it. He was always getting hit on the head by his bedside alarm clock. It also appeared that the alarm clock has broken again. It was on the floor, many pointy pieces of it lying everywhere. Jay decided that it was too dangerous to walk on the floor so he formed an idea and decided to put it into action. He knew it was a bit stupid but there was no other way he could think of.

Jay stood up on his bed, being cautious so he would not lose balance and fall. _This next move might be a bit crazy but I need to attempt_ _it_ thought Jay. He ran across his bed as fast as he could and jumped from the edge of it just after he lost some of his footing. Because of that, Jay fell facedown onto the ground with an extremely loud thud. The thud was so loud his neighbours probably heard it.

"Jay!" yelled his mum with heavy worryingly as she ran up the staircase. Jay's mother stopped when she reached his doorway. She looked down and saw Jay facedown and flat on the ground, groaning in pain.

"Sweetie! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." moaned Jay, still facedown.

* * *

"So you won't be travelling with us anymore?" asked Ash surprised from the news.

"Not anymore Ash," replied Cilan whilst shaking his head sadly. "I need to return to my duty as one of the gym leaders here. I would've liked to continue writing down the recipe of travelling with the two of you but I need to continue my duties and responsibilities as a gym leader here."

Iris stepped forward. "How long have you been keeping this from us for?" she questioned sternly.

"A while now actually," answered Cilan. "I didn't want you two to be as miserable as an awful dish during our last moments together, so I never said anything."

"But you could've told us!" yelled Iris. "We could've spend our last travelling moments together in a better way!"

"Calm down Iris," said Ash. He sighed deeply. "What's done is done. We can't do anything about it now."

Iris calmed down.

"Anyways Cilan, I guess its farewell huh? I mean farewell until we come back and visit," said Ash with tinge of disappointment. Wait, a lot of disappointment. That Cilan couldn't carry on travelling anymore.

"Like Ash said," said Iris droopily. It was as if she had no more bones in her body.

"Pika pi..." added Ash's yellow rodent. The pokemon was also not its typical self anymore.

"Yeah, it's good bye for now you two," said Cilan feeling a bit down. No, 'a bit down' was the biggest understatement of the century. As big as the planets of the solar system combined.

After Cilan's words, a few moments of silence followed. No one spoke, they all just silently felt each others presences, knowing that it was because these were supposedly their last seconds together. For a while at least.

What seemed like an eternity later, Ash decided it was time to leave. He didn't want to go, but was there really any other choice?

"I guess I'll leave first then..." sighed Ash. "Bye Cilan..." He then turned around and began to walk out of the gym, with a thought on his mind. _Who's going to cook for us now? _

"...I'll leave too..." muttered Iris. She began walking out of the building as well, also with a thought in mind. _Great. Now I'm the only one that has to put up with Ash's kiddy behaviour...why Cilan why?_

Cilan just stood silently and watched as his two good friends exited the building. Cilan felt so sad, as if something important in his life then and there was gone forever.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulders. "Are you sure this is what you want?" asked a voice from behind. Cilan didn't even need to look back and see who it was because he already knew who. He could tell by the voice.

The green haired man pivoted around and came face-to-face with his blue haired brother.

"You know, you don't need to stay here if you don't want to," continued the man. "You can continue on with your travels with your friends, if that's what you want. If so, me and Chili can continue to look after the gym alone."

"No, I've made my final decision to stay here with you two and to continue fulfilling my duties as a gym leader here," replied Cilan uneasily.

"Are you sure? You don't seem as calm as water with this decision." Cress wasn't sure Cilan made this decision with his heart, instead deciding using what he thought they would like.

Cilan twisted his head away. "Don't worry Cress, I'm sure about this decision I've made..." he mumbled audibly enough for his brother.

* * *

A couple of knocks were heard from the front door.

"Coming!" shouted a woman's voice. A few moments later the sound of an opening door was heard, followed by the sound of faint chatter. After the chatter was over, the woman's voice called out, "Rose! It's your friends! They've come to see you!"

"Alright, coming mum!" Rose called back.

She arrived at the front doorway and saw her two friends there chatting to her mother.

"There you are Rose!" said her mother. "Now go on. Your friends want you to hang out with them."

Rose's mother was forcing her to go out with her friends by pushing her outside.

Once Rose was outside with her friends her mother said, "Now you have a good time with your friends!" The door was then shut. Rose was stunned by what just happened. _Why does mum eagerly want me to go hang out with my friends for? she thought._

"Now where should we go?" asked Jay. "I'm not good at choosing a place to hang out...you two know why." To this day, the boy was still disappointed about what place he chose for hanging out with his friends at. It was absolute disaster that day. Jay didn't even want to think about it, so he was wondering why he was thinking about it then.

"I know!" said Anna. It seemed as though she came up with a good answer. "Let's head to the center of town and hang out there!" she suggested.

Just hearing that made Jay happy. You see, Jay liked the place for a reason he didn't know himself, and was more than happy to go. "It's decided then! We'll go to the center of town! I'll race you guys there!" So Jay ran off first, as fast an Olympic 100 metre sprinter.

"Geez...he can sure be impatient if he wants to be..." mumbled Anna to herself. She then turned to Rose. "Now come on Rose, let's go," said Anna.

She started walking off, expecting Rose to follow but realised she wasn't following. Anna looked back and noticed Rose was looking spaced out.

"Come on Rose don't just stand there!" Anna grabbed Rose's arm tightly and then dragged her along.

* * *

"Wait up Jay, wait for us!" yelled out Anna as she tried her best to catch up to the ebony haired boy ahead.

She then looked back and saw Rose lagging behind. _How slow is she? I thought she was faster than this! _thought Anna.

She stopped running for a moment to let Rose catch up.

"Come on Rose! Be a little quicker!" snapped Anna.

She roughly grabbed Rose by the arm and pulled her along as she continued to run after Jay.

* * *

Jay was running speedily down the street, weaving his way through the crowd of people.

"I'm going to beat you guys there!" shouted Jay without looking back.

He thought his friends were right behind him.

"Come on! You guys are making this too easy!"

Jay then looked back and saw that his friends weren't behind him. He couldn't even see where they were.

"Look out!" yelled out a voice.

Jay turned his head forwards again and saw a boy a few yards in front of him. He was running straight at him.

"AHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**I hope you liked this at least a little. ****Other characters will appear in the story at a latter time. I should also mention that this story'll have Pearlshipping, as well as 2 OCshippings...so um...yeah :)**

**And reviews are also welcome!  
**


	2. Ash vs Jay!

**This is the second chapter to the story. **

**To be honest, I think it was a little bit crummy. I will strive to write better chapters than this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**And now let the second chapter begin!**

* * *

Jay got back up to his feet.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

Jay offered his helping hand to the raven-haired boy he bumped into a few seconds ago.

The boy grabbed his hand and was helped up.

"Its ok. I'm fine," said the boy as he dusted himself with his hands. "No need to apologize."

"You should be more careful next time!" a purple haired girl yelled at Jay. "You could've hurt my friend here!"

"It's fine Iris," spoke the raven-haired boy. "A small bump like that couldn't have possibly injured me in any way."

"Says the kid who knows nothing."

"Hey, I thought you said you'd stop with that!"

"Well I lied!"

"But you said you would stop calling me a kid!"

So the two engaged in a fierce argument.

Jay sweatdropped. "This something you don't see everyday..."

In the midst of the argument, the boy took notice of Jay. He was just standing there watching them fight.

"Are you even listening to me?" asked a frustrated Iris.

Her friend totally ignored what she said and pivoted his body around so he was facing Jay.

"I'm sorry you have to see me and my friend here argue," said the boy. "And for that, I'll introduce myself to you. I'm Ash and this is my buddy Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" cried a yellow pokemon as it leapt on top of his head.

"Nice to officially meet you! My name's Jay!"

He then held out his hand. Ash got out his own hands and shook them with Jay's.

"Nice to meet you!" said Ash.

Iris walked up beside Ash and spoke. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you before..."

"Its cool."

"Oh, by the way, I'm Iris and this is my friend Axew!" Iris was pointing to the greenish coloured dragon-like pokemon that inhabited her long purple hair.

Jay began to study the pokemon closely and curious, and found that it had its eyes closed. The ebony haired boy assumed that it was asleep, and proceeded to saying, "Um...your pokemon is asleep. You do know that right?"

Iris struck out a confused expression. She didn't know Axew was asleep, but then again, it always snored softly when it did. The purple haired girl grabbed her pokemon out from her hair and looked at it. She realised Jay was right. Her Axew was in a deep sleep, snoring softly and murmuring its own name peacefully.

Iris felt bad for what she was going to do, but she did it anyways. "Hey Axew! Axew! Wake up!" She shook the tusk pokemon roughly.

It took a few shakes but in the end Iris succeeded. The greenish coloured dragon slowly awoke from its slumber, lazily opening its eyes to see.

The first thing Axew the pokemon saw as it opened its eyes was Iris. "Axew!" it cried angrily. It was obviously furious about being woken up by its trainer.

"There's no need to be angry Axew. I just want you to meet someone! His name is Jack!" Iris gestured to the boy standing in front of her.

The wrong pronunciation of his name caused Jay to sweatdrop. "It's Jay."

"Oh, right. My bad!" apologised Iris.

Suddenly, two voices called out, "Jay!" Jay knew those voices. They belonged to his friends Rose and Anna no doubt.

The ebony haired boy looked back to see them, but all he found were a crowd of unfamiliar people.

This confused him greatly. The voices of his friends, he just heard them a second ago. It wasn't like a ghost of Rose and Anna was calling out to him, was it? "I could've sworn someone said my name just then..." mused Jay.

"Jay!" called out the two voices once again.

"Grr! Stop trying to confuse me stupid voices!" Jay thought they were voices from his mind. He was wrong.

"Did you say our voices were stupid?" Jay looked up and saw Rose and Anna. He immediately cringed from seeing them, but at the same time was also happy.

"I-I-I didn't s-say a thing!" stuttered Jay quickly. He didn't want a slap to the face, especially from his two friends. At the past, he had experienced them before and hell did they burn!

"Sure...I believe you," said Anna sarcastically. "It was obviously our voices you were referring to. If not, who else could it have been?"

"Um...um..." Jay was trying to come up with something, but his mind was utterly failing him.

Anna placed her hands on her hips. "Speechless?" she asked. "I thought so!"

"Stop it Anna. I'm sure he didn't mean it," said Rose as she shot Jay a dark glare. "And by the way, who are these two? Are they your friends?" She removed the glaring look from her face and indicated to the other two that were standing with them.

"Um...yeah. I just met these two. Their names are Ash and Iris."

"I'm assuming Ash is the girl and Iris is the boy. Am I correct?" guessed Anna. At this, Jay almost burst out laughing. Ash the girl? Iris the boy? It was all to funny, especially since Iris was a common female name and Ash was a...less common male name.

"Um...that's wrong actually. I'm Iris," said Iris as she placed a hand proudly onto the center of her chest. "And that is the little kid Ash." She pointed to the raven haired boy next to her with a wide and evil grin. Ash just sighed.

"Oh...ok...anyways, nice to meet you two! I'm Rose!" Rose introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you!" said Ash.

"Like he said," added Iris.

They exchanged friendly greetings amongst each other.

"Anna, aren't you going to introduce yourself to them?" asked Jay.

"Oh, right," said Anna. She paused for a moment before saying, "Hi! Nice to meet you guys! My name's Anna."

"Nice to meet you too!" said Ash.

"Like he said, once again," added Iris.

"Hm...now that you guys have formally met each other, I think we should go now. Its nearing lunch time and we need to go and get something to eat," said Jay. He was hungry and he wanted to get something to eat real soon.

"You know, we were just on our way to get ourselves lunch as well," chuckled Ash.

An idea formed in Iris' head at that moment. "Hey I know!" she exclaimed. "Do you guys want to join us for lunch?"

Jay liked the sound of that offer. "Well, I don't see why not, so alright," he replied coolly.

"Great!" At the same moment, Ash's stomach rumbled.

"We should get going now! Before Ash's stomach growls any louder!" laughed Iris.

"Xew yew!" cried her Axew.

* * *

"Mmm! This is delicious!" said Ash with his mouth full. "This is the best food I've ever eaten! Well...apart from Cilan's cooking." Ash swallowed the food in his mouth before shoving more food into it.

"Looks like Ash is enjoying this," chuckled Jay as he watched Ash wolf down the food on the plate. He was like a Snorlax when it came to eating, and he definitely wasn't afraid to show it.

"That's just Ash," stated Iris simply. She took a bite out of her apple before speaking again. "He's always interested in food no matter how he feels."

"I see..." Jat nodded slowly.

"So..." spoke Anna. "Do you both have pokemon?"

"Yeah, we do," replied Iris. "We're trainers. Which trainer doesn't have pokemon? Anyway, we were originally trainers travelling around the Unova region, the reason being Ash. He was on a journey to collect all eight gym badges of the Unova region so he could enter the Unova league."

"Funny that," said Anna. "We were the same as well. Travelling around Unova so Jay could gather his eight badges."

Ash gulped down the food in his mouth before asking, "You guys are trainers?"

Everyone else sweatdropped.

"Well if we weren't what else would we be?" questioned Anna.

"Um...a pokemon breeder?"

"Fair enough I guess...even though we're not pokemon breeders..."

"Anyways..." Ash stood up from his seat. "I challenge you to a battle Jay!"

"Huh?" everyone in the table said in surprise.

"You want to challenge Jay now?" asked Iris. "We haven't even finished lunch yet!" Iris then looked at Ash's plate and let her mouth hang open. The piece of crewed fruit that was in her mouth fell out and went onto the table. She was visibly surprised.

"You surprised?" smirked Ash.

"H-how'd you finish your lunch already? We've only been eating for three minutes and you've already downed a whole plate of food into your stomach!"

"Come on Iris, is it really that hard to believe? You've been travelling with me for a while now but you're still surprised about how quick I eat? Even Jay, Rose and Anna aren't surprised and this is the first time they've seen me eat. Right you guys?"

Ash was utterly wrong. He looked at each of the three and saw that they were staring at his plate, just as surprised as Iris was. "Maybe I was wrong...but still..." He then looked at Jay.

"So do you accept my challenge?"

"Um...yeah...why not..." said Jay without looking at him. He was still quite stunned about how fast Ash ate.

* * *

Ash and Jay were both standing on an empty grass lot, with the girls being spectators. Ash and Jay were standing on the opposite ends of the empty field, facing each other with loads of confidence.

"All right Jay, how does a one on one battle sound?" requested Ash.

"That sounds like music to my ears!" grinned Jay.

"Really? So do you want me to sing it?"

Jay sweatdropped. "I didn't mean it literally..." He then grabbed out one of his pokeballs. "Anyways, I'm really for the battle!"

"Bring it!"

"Ok then! You asked for it!" Jay was just about to throw his pokeball onto the field until a voice stopped him.

"Wait!" The voice yelled. All attention was turned to the source of the voice, which appeared to be Anna.

"What's wrong?" asked Rose.

"Don't we need a referee to judge this match?"

"I'll be the judge then!" said Iris as she hopped out of her seat.

"You want to be the judge of this battle?" asked Ash.

"Well I just said so didn't I? What kind of stupid question is that?"

_Ash is such a kid. He can be so idiotic sometimes. Wait. Make that most of the time _thought Iris.

She went and stood herself on the sidelines of the battlefield so she could get a better view of the battlefield.

"Are you ready?" asked Ash.

"Of course I'm ready! I was born ready!" replied Jay.

"Ok then, get ready because here comes my pokemon!" Ash was just about to throw his pokeball but stopped when he saw a line of white light come from his belt and onto the field.

"Oshawott!" cried the pokemon as it materialized on the ground.

"What? Was that meant to confuse me?" asked Jay as he raised an eyebrow.

"No. It's just Ash's Oshawott that does that. Sometimes when Ash is about to go into battle, it comes out of its pokeball on its own so that it would be chosen to partake in battle."

"Very interesting..." mused Jay.

"Osha oshawott!" said the sea otter pokemon.

"You want to battle?" asked Ash.

"Osha oshawott! Osha!" The pokemon was showing off its fighting actions.

Ash chuckled before saying, "Alright then, you can battle this time."

"Osha!"

"Very interesting decision I see..." said Jay.

"Jay! Aren't you going to send in your pokemon?" asked Ash from the other side of the battlefield.

"Ok I've decided!" Jay enlarged the pokeball that was in his hand.

"Ok Lucario, let's do this thing!" He threw the pokeball into the field.

As the pokeball made contact with the ground, it split open and released white light. The light materialized into some sort of dog-like pokemon.

"Whoa! A Lucario!" said Ash with surprise. "I can already tell your not going to be as easy as I thought!

"Who ever said I would be easy?" said Jay. "I'm not some weakling you know."

"Ok! This match will be a one on one battle, obviously with no substitutions. The winner will be decided when a pokemon from either side faints," announced Iris.

Ash and Jay eyed each other from the opposite ends of the field as if they were fierce rivals.

"This looks serious..." said Rose.

"Who ever said it couldn't be serious?" asked Anna. "They didn't say that it wouldn't be a serious battle."

"Yeah but still. Don't you think this battle looks a bit too serious?"

"Nope! Not at all!"

The two competitors were still eyeing each other silently, waiting for the call so the battle could start.

"Ok! Now let the battle begin!" declared Iris.

"Alright Oshawott use Aqua Jet!" Ash ordered quickly.

The sea otter pokemon became surrounded in water before swiftly catapulting itself at Lucario.

"Lucario, intercept the attack with Aura Sphere!" Jay instructed.

Lucario charged up a ball of aura in between its two paws.

Then it released the orb of aura straight at the incoming pokemon.

Oshawott tried to avoid the approaching Aura Sphere but failed miserably. The attack made contact with the water type pokemon and created an explosion of smoke as well.

Oshawott was seen descending down quickly towards the hard earth.

"Lucario, let's finish this already with Stone Edge!" ordered Jay.

Lucario surrounded itself with two white rings of energy, which then formed into chunks of grey stones. It then fired the bunch of stones towards the direction where Oshawott was supposed to hit the ground.

"Oshawott, use Water Gun and aim it at the ground!" commanded Ash.

Oshawott heard its trainer's order and regained composure. It then fired a gush of water from its mouth onto the ground.

The force of this attack onto the ground was pushing Oshawott back up to the skies. Stone Edge missed completely.

"Now Oshawott, use Hydro Pump!"

Oshawott faced itself towards it's opponent and then let loose a rush of water from its mouth.

The attack hit Lucario directly on it's chest and sent it flying backwards. Lucario landed roughly onto the ground a few feet away from its trainer.

"Lucario, are you still able to battle?" asked Jay. With a struggle, Lucario got back up on its two feet.

"Alright! Now let's shift things back onto our favor shall we?" The aura pokemon looked back and nodded in response.

"Man...and I thought that did the trick," said Ash. "I should've expected your Lucario to be this tough!"

Jay just smirked. "My Lucario isn't even trying."

"YOU SAID WHAT?" shouted Ash.

"You heard me. My Lucario isn't using its full power."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I'm serious. Do you want me to prove it?"

"I'd like to see you do that!"

"Well, since you asked for it. Just don't regret it afterwards ok?"

"Don't worry! It won't be me that'll be regretting!"

"We'll see about that!"

"Come on you two! Are you guys just going to stand there and talk all day, or are you guys going to battle?" questioned Iris.

"Um...we're battling," answered Jay.

"Well it doesn't seem that way..."

"Oshawott, use Razor Shell!" ordered Ash.

The sea otter pokemon detached the scalchop from its chest and then ran at Lucario.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush to fend off the attack!" ordered Jay.

Lucario held out its hands and formed a bone made of energy.

Oshawott attempted to swing its scalchop at Lucario. Lucario blocked the attack with the bone it formed just a few seconds ago.

"Now strike back with Force Palm!" instructed Jay.

The aura pokemon placed one of its palms on Oshawott's face.

"Oh no! Get out of there!" yelled Ash. But it was too late. Lucario sent out a bright, white blast from its paws before Oshawott could even react.

Oshawott was sent flying backwards and landed brutally onto the ground a few metres in front of its trainer.

"Now let's finish this Lucario!" said Jay. "Leap up in the air and use Aura Sphere!"

Lucario jumped into the air, whilst forming a blue sphere of aura in between its paws.

"Oshawott, get up and dodge the attack!" yelled Ash. Oshawott was trying fiercely to get itself back up, but its efforts were failing.

"Now Lucario! Release the attack!" shouted Jay.

The aura pokemon launched the blue orb at its opponent.

"Oshawott! Get up and dodge it! I know you can do it!" shouted Ash.

Oshawott tried its hardest to get back up, but didn't end up doing so because its opponent's attack hit. The attack made contact and also created thick, opaque smoke.

"Oshawott!" shouted Ash.

"I'm sure that would've won me the battle!" said Jay conceitedly.

The smoke faded away and revealed that the sea otter pokemon hasn't fainted yet. It was standing up. It had endured the attack.

"What? Oshawott stood up to that attack?" asked a surprised Jay.

"Osha...wott..." it said weakly. There were scratches and marks all over his body. Everyone was surprised that it could even stand up.

It turned around and faced its trainer.

"Oshawott," it said. The sea otter pokemon just stood for a few moments, looking at Ash before suddenly collapsing onto the ground. Its eyes were replaced with swirls.

"And Oshawott is unable to battle!" declared Iris. "So therefore, the winner of the battle is Jay!"

"Nice work Lucario!" praised Jay. "You won!"

Ash ran up to his pokemon. "Are you ok Oshawott?" asked Ash as he carried Oshawott in his arms.

"Osha...wott..." it said weakly as it opened its eyes.

"You did a great job. Now take a nice long rest." Ash returned the sea otter pokemon back into its pokeball.

He then stood up and approached Jay.

"Return Lucario," said Jay as he returned the aura pokemon back into its pokeball. "You did real well today!" he spoke to the pokeball.

"That was a nice battle we had there!" called out a voice.

Jay looked up and saw Ash coming up to him.

"It seems like I kinda underestimated you a bit huh?" said Ash. "Anyways, nice battle." He held out his hand for Jay to shake. Jay gladly accepted the handshake.

"Yeah! That was a nice battle!"

"Great job Jay!" said a voice from behind him.

Ash and Jay focused their attention to the source of the voice, which happened to be Rose.

"Congratulations on that battle Jay!" she said when she was closer.

"Yeah, congrats!" applauded Iris. "Of course, you did well too Ash."

"That was one of the most epic battles I've seen in a while!" said Anna as she came. "I really enjoyed watching that!"

"So what do you guys think we should do now?" asked Iris. "Do you guys think we should head to the pokemon center and get Ash and Jay's pokemon patched up again?"

"Yeah! I would think that Lucario would need some healing after that tough battle!" replied Jay.

"My Oshawott also needs a little recovery after being beaten in battle so bad," said Ash.

"Come on guys! I'll race you guys there!" said Jay. He then sprinted off.

Ash and Iris sweatdropped.

"Is he always like that?" asked Iris.

"Yeah. Always," responded Rose.

"Come on guys. Let's go after him," said Anna.

"Don't you think we should just walk?" asked Rose. Anna then looked at the other two. They seem to agree with Rose. Anna sighed.

"Alright then. I guess we'll just walk..."

* * *

**Remember, reviews are welcome! Criticism is of course, aloud.**


	3. The Bad Guy In Orange Armor!

**Another chapter to this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**And now let the third chapter begin!**

* * *

"So what do you guys think we should do today?" asked Iris. The group of five friends were walking down the streets, thinking about what to do.

"Hey I know! Maybe I can battle Anna or Rose today!" said Ash. "I'm sure it'll be fun!"

"Ash, can you stop thinking about pokemon and food just this once!" snapped Iris. "It's driving me insane!"

"I'm driving you insane?" asked Ash as he pointed to himself. "You're driving yourself insane! If not battling, then what do you guys think we should do?"

Iris simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Anything is fine as long as it's not another pokemon battle."

"Hey, look at that guys!" said Jay all of a sudden. He was pointing up at something.

The other four tilted their heads upwards and spotted the thing Jay was pointing at. It was a huge billboard.

**The Pokemon World Championships **it read. Next to those words was a picture of a golden trophy.

"Another one that likes to think about pokemon. Great..." sighed Iris. "I'm stuck with two Ash's now..."

"Whoa! There's going to be a pokemon world championship! That's just awesome!" said Ash enthusiastically. "I'm going to enter it!"

"Pikachu!" cried the mouse pokemon on his head.

"And look, posters of it are everywhere on the walls!" Jay pointed at the walls of various buildings. All of the walls were covered with identical posters of the upcoming event.

He and Ash ran up to one of the posters. The girls just walked after them.

"Let's read what it says!" said Ash.

The poster read:  
**Ready to win it all? If the answer is yes, then this might be what you've been looking for. We are holding the first ever Pokemon World Tournament! Any bunch of trainers can enter the tournament and the sign-ups for the preliminaries will be taking place during the next few days. We urge you all to go and register for the tournament now! Below are the major details for the tournament.**

**When: Exactly one week from now (sign-ups are during the next few days)**

**Where: Every city/town in each region**

**Who: Anyone with pokemon can enter**

**There is also one last major detail concerning the event. This is a team tournament. Competitors must enter with a team of 3 (including 1 sub in case anything ever happens to one of your team members). The rules will be explained at the event.**

**We hope to see you all!**

After reading that, Ash and Jay were jumping up and down with excitement.

"I don't get what they're so excited is about...it's just a tournament..." said Iris.

"Well to them two, it's something else," said Anna pointing to Ash and Jay. "I guess you can see it as a chance to battle the toughest pokemon battlers around...if you're a pokemon battle fanatic."

"No way! I'm not some pokemon battle fanatic!" said Iris. "I'm not entering! This is dumb!"

"Fine then!" said Ash. "We didn't need you anyways. We've already got a team of four. Me, Jay, Anna and Rose."

"Er...you guys..." said Rose. "I'm not going entering as well. Battling on a stage makes me feel nervous."

"YOU WHAT?" asked Ash. "You're not entering as well? That's just great. We're now one team member short, unless...you're not entering as well Anna."

"Don't worry Ash, I'm going to participate," said Anna. "It sounds interesting enough for me to want to join."

"Well Ash, at least we're staying one member short," said Jay. "Now...who in the world could we get to fill up our last spot..."

Suddenly, a boom was heard from a nearby place. The ground vibrated a little. There was a sudden outburst of chaos as people were running all over the place.

"What was that?" asked Rose, panicking a little.

"I don't know, but it sounded like an explosion to me!" said Iris. "Someone must've used some sort of explosive."

"AN EXPLOSIVE?" Rose was panicking a lot now. "You guys seriously think so?"

It was then that another boom was heard. This one sounded really close by. The ground was shaking way more fiercely before.

Jay lost his balance and fell down onto the ground. Everyone else was struggling to keep their balance.

"What is causing this? Is it some sort of natural disaster or something?" asked Jay as his voice was shaking, due to the ground trembling.

"Well I wouldn't say so," said Anna. "The booms sounded like explosions to me. Someone must be doing this."

"Who is?"

"Well she did say someone!" said Iris. "How stupid can you get? You're just as dumb as Ash!"

"Hey! What did you say?" Ash was gazing at Iris with a dangerous look.

"Um...nothing...I didn't say anything."

"Well it sounded like something to me!"

"Quit it, both of you!" said Anna sternly. "There's no time to bicker now! We have to get out of here before-" Her eyes grew wide.

"Um...did you just see a ghost or something?" asked Jay.

He then took notice of the rectangle shadow on the ground growing larger and larger.

Jay looked up and was shocked when he saw a building falling down their direction. His eyes grew even wider than Anna's.

"The building is going to fall on us!" said a frightened Iris. "What are we going to do?"

Anna thought for a few split moments. _What can we do...wait a minute..._ "I know who can help!" said Anna out loud. She grabbed a pokeball out and enlarged it. "Espeon, come out and assist us!" Anna threw the pokeball onto the ground. It split and released a white light onto the ground, which materialized into some lavender coloured cat pokemon.

The building was just about a couple of dozen meters away from crushing them now. Everyone was bracing themselves for the impact that was to come.

Everyone except Anna that is. "Espeon, use Psychic on the building to stop it from flattening us!" she ordered. _I hope this works...if not, we're going to be smooshed _thought Anna.

The sun pokemon used its telekinesis powers to stop the building from falling on them. Its powers were allowing the building to be held up in the air. Everyone opened their eyes again to see that the building was outlined with blue and that it was floating in the air.

"The building didn't crush us," uttered Jay. "What happened?" He was relieved that the building didn't crush them but he wanted to know how.

"I made Espeon use Psychic on the building so it wouldn't fall on us," replied Anna. "That's about it."

"Stupid me! Why didn't I think of that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because YOUR STUPID!" thundered Iris.

"I am not stupid!" retorted Jay. "Well I did say I was stupid, but I didn't mean it-"

"JUST SHUT UP!" shouted Anna. She was really loud. The voice was probably heard from the other side of the city, if anyone was even there.

Everyone fell dead silent. Breathing wasn't even heard.

Anna then inhaled and exhaled heavily to calm herself down. She did that sometimes when she has just raged.

"Ok," said Anna now calmer. "Much better. Now what we need to do is to set the broken building down onto the ground gently. Espeon, move the building away from above us and then set it down onto the ground gently."

Espeon followed the order. The floating building was transported away from above them, and then placed slowly and gently onto the ground.

"Whew! I'm glad that's over!" said Anna with relief. "Now Espeon, retur-"

"Why are you children still here?" The voice sliced through the air. "I thought everyone would have left the city by now!"

The five of them pivoted around. They saw a man dressed in some sort of orange coloured armor suit.

"You're the one responsible for this destruction I bet!" said Iris. "Who are you?"

The stranger took one step forwards. "Who am I you ask? That is the most frequent question I get and I'm sick of it. Do you really want to know who I am?"

"Yes. I do!" said Iris.

"Well too bad! I won't tell you!" snapped the orange armored guy. "After all...you guys will find out...soon enough."

"Soon enough?" said Ash. "When will that be? We want to know who you are now! I'm guessing you're part of Team Plasma."

"You seriously think I would be part of that pathetic organization?" replied the orange armored man. "They were feeble fools that couldn't achieve anything! What makes you think I would be with that organization? Besides, they've perished a little while ago."

"What? They perished?" asked Iris in surprise.

"Didn't I just say that you ignorant fool? Anyways, we shouldn't be talking about those dimwits! We shouldn't even be talking! I should be crushing you and your pokemon like bugs!"

"You actually think you can do that?" Jay spoke. "I'm pretty sure your wrong."

"Arrogant little boy! I'll show you who's wrong!" The orange armored man grabbed out a pokeball and enlarged it. "I challenge all of you to a pokemon battle!"

Jay laughed for a bit. "You've got to be kidding me! Five against one would be so unfair. Especially when all of us are probably tougher than you are."

"Silence!" growled the man. "It is going to be five on one and that's that! Got it?"

"Fine then, it's your funeral..." Jay looked back at the others. "You guys ready to kick his butt?" They each grabbed out one of their pokeballs and nodded in response.

"Good!" Jay then turned back to the man with orange armor. "Now dude, get ready to be beaten badly in battle!"

"I wouldn't count on it!" replied the orange armored guy. He sounded pretty confident.

"We'll see..." Jay enlarged his pokeball. "Manectric, let's do this thing!" He threw the pokeball onto the ground. It split open, releasing white light onto the ground that materialized into a blue and yellow hound.

"Is that seriously what you're going to be using in this battle? I'm afraid this battle is going to end quickly. I just hope your friends will send out stronger pokemon."

"Oh yeah! You want to see strong? I show you strong!" exclaimed Ash. "Infernape, I choose you!" He tossed the pokeball into the ground. Upon contact, the pokeball split open. White light came out onto the ground and materialized into an ape pokemon with a large flame continuously burning on the top of its head.

"That pokemon looks alright...but still a bit weak. I hope the girls have stronger pokemon," said the man with orange armor.

"Hey bad guy!" called out Rose. He looked at her direction.

"Want to see the pokemon that'll beat you? It's right here! Baltoy, let's dazzle him!" She threw her pokeball onto the ground. The pokeball split and released white light. The white light hit the ground and materialized into a small brown pokemon that looked like some sort of spinning-top.

"Alright, get ready for my pokemon as well," said Iris. "Excadrill, come on out!" She hurled her pokeball onto the ground. The pokeball split and released a white light, which materialized into some huge mole pokemon with razor sharp metal claws.

"Anna, what about you?"

"I'll just stay with Espeon!" replied Anna. She then turned to her pokemon. "You ready to fight?"

Her Espeon shot her a determined look.

"You think we're weak now?" asked Jay. "If I were you, I would just surrender now!"

The orange armored man laughed out loud. "What's so funny?" Jay was getting really infuriated. _How dare he laugh at me! _thought Jay.

"The funny thing is that you guys think you can beat me in a pokemon battle!"

"Oh yeah. That's because we can!" said Ash.

"I don't think so. Zapdos, come out and battle!" The enemy threw his pokemon into the air. The pokeball split, releasing white light that materialized into a yellow bird with spiky feathers.

"He's got a Zapdos!" said Jay with surprise.

"Shocked?" The orange armored man was laughing corruptly. "You know how tough I am now."

"Grrrr! Just because you've got a legendary bird, doesn't mean you're tough!" said Anna angrily. "Espeon, use Swift!" The sun pokemon released a bunch of yellow stars towards the opponent's pokemon.

"Zapdos, avoid the attack!"

The legendary bird flapped its wings and ascended higher into the air, making the Swift attack miss completely.

"Now Zapdos, attack back with Thunderbolt!" ordered the orange armored guy.

The electric pokemon let loose a line of electricity straight towards Espeon.

"Espeon, dodge it!"

Espeon attempted a dodge but failed. The line of electricity struck Espeon and shocked it.

"No! Espeon!" yelled Anna. Espeon tried to get back up on its four legs but was too weak.

The orange armored man was laughing evilly. "What pathetic pokemon! One attack and I've already weakened it severely! These pokemon are obviously trained by weaklings!"

"Weaklings? We're not weaklings!" said Jay. "Manectric, use Quick Attack!"

The discharge pokemon charged at the legendary bird with speed as fast as light, leaving a trail of white behind it. It then leapt into the air towards Zapdos.

"Zapdos, Aerial Ace!"

The legendary bird descended down quickly at Manectric with a white outline surrounding it.

The two attacks collided and made an explosion. Manectric was sent crashing onto the ground whilst Zapdos withdrew from the smoke unharmed.

"And you say you aren't weaklings," said the man with orange armor. "I beg to differ."

"We'll show you!" said Ash. "Infernape, Mach Punch!"

The fire type quickly dashed at Zapdos with its glowing fists out.

"Zapdos! Double Team!" The legendary made duplicates of itself. Infernape saw this and stopped mid-attack. The fire monkey took a look around itself and found it was surrounded.

"Zapdos, Thunderbolt!"

Every copy of the electric pokemon fired a bolt of electricity at Infernape. The fire monkey pokemon endured the attack and collapsed onto the ground afterwards.

"All of these pokemon are pathetic. There's nothing you can do to make me think otherwise!" said the man with orange armor.

"We are not weak!" shot back Iris. She then turned to Rose. "How about we strike together?" Rose nodded her head in reply.

Iris turned back to the foe. "Get ready to taste defeat!" She was sure that a joint attack would work against the legendary.

"Ok Excadrill, use Focus Blast!" ordered Iris.

"And you Baltoy, use Ice Beam!" commanded Rose.

So then Excadrill and Baltoy used their respective attacks. Both moves combined as they sailed towards Zapdos.

"Zapdos, power through those attacks with Aerial Ace!"

The legendary bird became outlined in white and charged straight at the attacks. It made contact with the attacks and that created an explosion.

"Who the hell would've done that? You just let your pokemon get hit by the attack!" said Iris.

"Yeah, but look," said the orange armor guy. His Zapdos flew out of the smoke, still using its Aerial Ace attack. Iris and Rose were shocked.

"H-how d-did your Zapdos b-break through?" stuttered Iris.

"I wouldn't be asking unnecessary questions right now if I were you. Look."

His Zapdos landed its attack on both Excadrill and Baltoy.

"Excadrill!" cried Iris.

"Baltoy!" cried Rose.

The guy in the orange suit laughed evilly once again. "You trainers are done for! You've wasted enough of my time already! Time to wrap this up! Zapdos, use Discharge!"

The legendary bird released electricity all around itself. The attack got every pokemon except Excadrill, due to its immunity to electric type moves.

The pokemon that were hit by the attack all fainted. The fainted pokemon were returned to their pokeballs by their respective trainers. "That was easy! Now one pokemon is left! It shall be easily finished with Aerial Ace!"

Zapdos was charging straight at Excadrill.

"Excadrill! Get up!" shouted Iris. Panic was easily heard in her voice. Excadrill was trying to get up but it was too weak.

The Zapdos was getting closer. Excadrill didn't seem like it could go on anymore. It looked like the victor was going to be the bad man wearing the orange armor. That was until...

"Release the Solar Beam now!" ordered a voice from behind. A yellow beam was seen travelling towards the legendary bird.

"Zapdos, dodge it now!" Zapdos tried to dodge the attack but was hit before it even had the chance to move away.

Ash and the rest looked behind and saw a shadowed figure with a shadowed pokemon next to him. The figure and his pokemon stepped forwards a bit and became visible to everyone. "I see you people are up against a bad recipe here!" said the figure.

"Cilan!" said Ash and Iris with happiness.

"The gym leader has come and saved us!" said Jay.

"Wait, you guys know who he is?" asked Ash.

"Well we are from this city," replied Anna. "How wouldn't we know him?"

"It's Ash and Iris I see," said Cilan as he approached the group. "I should've expected it to be you guys in this mess. And Anna is here is well. Nice to see you again! I see you've met Ash and Iris while I was back at my gym."

"Wait. You know Cilan in person?" asked Ash.

"It's a long story," was all Anna replied.

Cilan then walked up in front of the group and faced the orange armor guy. "Leave these guys alone!" said Cilan sternly.

"So I see one of the Striaton gym leaders have come to aid you guys..." said the orange armored man. "Hmm...I wouldn't like to waste even more of my precious time, so I guess I'll get going now." The Zapdos landed onto the ground, allowing the orange armored man to climb aboard on top of it. "We will settle this another day! So long for now!" The Zapdos left the ground and started to fly away.

"Come back here you coward!" yelled Ash. He was about to run after the man but was stopped by someone's arms. He looked to the side to see it was Cilan.

"Let him run away," said Cilan. "That was what I intended to do anyways." So the six of them just watched as the Zapdos disappeared from view.

They all stayed silent for moments afterwards. Iris broke it.

"So..." she started. "How did you find us here?" Iris was really curious.

"Well..." said Cilan as he thought of how to say it. "There was something that happened this morning..."

**Start of Flashback**

Cilan was sitting on the side of his bed, sadly flicking through his photo album that was full of pictures that were taken during his journey with Ash and Iris.

He suddenly came across one picture that caught his attention. It was a picture of him and his two former travelling companions at the Unova league venue. They were all smiling in the picture, with Ash also holding his second place ribbon high up in the air.

_I really miss those times _thought Cilan. He sighed miserably.

A couple of knocks were then heard from his door. Cilan looked up at the door "Come on in..." he sighed.

The handle was twisted and the door creaked open. This revealed his blue haired brother standing in the doorway.

"Oh...it's you Cress..." spoke Cilan. He then looked down at the photo album on his lap again. This was the most depressed his brother has ever seen him. For the whole of yesterday, Cress has been trying to cheer his green haired brother up but nothing he did seemed to work. His brother just became even unhappier than he already was. Today though, his depression seemed really bad. If having too much unhappiness could kill, Cilan would already have died.

"Mind if we talk for a little?" asked Cress. Cilan shrugged his shoulders. "If you want..." was his spoken reply. He didn't even look up from his photo album.

_All right, I hope this works..._thought Cress. The blue haired man walked up to his brother's bed and sat down on the edge of it, right next to him.

"Dear brother," Cress started the conversation. "I know you've been down lately. What's causing you to be like this?"

"It's nothing Cress..." replied Cilan. He then looked off to the side opposite to his brother. "I'm not down. What makes you think I'm down?"

"Well..." said Cress. "You haven't been yourself lately. Ever since you came back from your travels, you've been as down as cold water."

"That's not true," lied Cilan. Inside, he knew his brother was right. He hasn't been himself lately. "I'm happy. Don't you see." Cilan turned his face around and gave his brother a forced smile.

"Very convincing..." said Cress sarcastically. "Seriously though. You haven't been yourself. I know you're lying Cilan."

Cilan looked back down at the photo album on his lap and sighed. "Alright. You found out I'm sad. So what?"

"Ah ha!" said the blue haired man as he stood up and pointed at his brother. "You admit you're sad!"

"So?"

"I think I know why you're sad. It's because you miss your two friends and you want to continue your travels with them for a little longer. Am I right or am I right?"

Cilan gave a little laugh before saying, "Well, you only gave me one thing to reply with and that is that you're indeed right."

"I thought so," said Cress. He sat back down onto the bed next to his brother. "Now I've got an idea of what you should do to bring yourself back to normal."

"Go ahead," said Cilan. "What's that idea on your mind?"

"Well, I suggest you keep travelling with them," said Cress. "I'm sure that'll bring back that Cilan I once knew."

"I know that's a good idea..." said Cilan. "But I have to stay here and continue to be gym leader. I can't make you and Chili handle the gym on your own again. I'm just overworking you guys."

"Cilan," said Cress as gently as he could. Cilan turned his head and faced his brother directly. "You know, if you don't go, you're probably going to stay like this. If you don't want to stay like this, I suggest you go and continue your travels with your friends."

"Well..." said Cilan. The decision he was about to make was important. Cilan knew that. He thought for a few seconds before coming up with the answer, "Ok. I'll go and continue my travels with my friends."

This reply brought a smile to Cress' face. "Good! Now go pack your bag quickly! You leave in half an hour!"

**End of Flashback**

"After leaving the gym I searched around to try find you and Ash," said Cilan. "During my search though, two explosions occurred and it was then that I knew where you guys would be around."

"So you actually want to continue travelling with us?" asked Ash. He just wanted to make sure he heard right.

"Absolutely positively!" replied Cilan.

"Great! It's good to have to have your back on board Cilan!"

"I agree!"

"Oh, and there's something else I want to ask you."

"What is it Ash?"

"Well...you see...there's a pokemon world championship coming up and I've been wondering-"

"If I could join the team?" finished Cilan. "Of course I'll join!"

"Alright!" Ash pumped a fist into the air. "We've got a whole team set now! We can enter!"

"Why don't we enter now then?" asked Jay. "Since we've got our team now, we can enter."

"Yeah!" said Ash. "We'll go and register now!"

"Race you guys there!" said Jay. He then ran off.

"Hey! Wait for me!" said Ash. He ran off after Jay.

"Come on guys, let's go after them!" said Anna.

"Can't we just walk?" asked Rose. "Besides, I don't even think anyone would even be there. Not after what just happened before with those explosions."

Anna's eyes widened in realization. "You're right!" said Anna. "Come on, we got to tell them!"

"Calm down Anna! We can just walk after them. Let them be disappointed," said Iris.

* * *

**I think I've referred to that bad guy by the name of 'orange armored guy' or similar names too much.**

**And also, reviews are welcomed!**


	4. The World Championships Commence!

**I have finally finished the fourth chapter to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

**And now let the fourth chapter begin!**

* * *

"I'm glad they still decided to hold the pokemon world championships event! I would've thought that they wouldn't do the pokemon world championships here anymore because of what happened three days ago," said Jay. For the past few days, he had been wondering if the tournament was still going to be held in Striaton City, and he was stoked when he heard it was.

"I know right. I thought they were going to cancel the preliminaries being held here. It's good that they're still doing so," said Anna. She was also glad about this outcome.

"Yeah...very good..." said Iris with a bored tone.

Right now, the six friends were lining up to register their team in the tournament. Everyone was excited. Everyone other than Rose and Iris that is. They weren't going to participate in the championships so they weren't really excited.

Ash went out of line a little bit so he could see how many people were in front of them in the line. "Oh man! There's like about twenty other teams in front of us! This is going to take forever!" he whined.

"Just be patient Ash," said Cilan. "It might take a while but it'll eventually get to us." As usual Cilan was looking at the good side of things and not the bad.

"I suppose so..." Ash let his head droop down. He was not a big fan of waiting, especially in a long line.

The line then moved up. "Finally! The line moved up!" spoke Jay. "Just move up!" said Iris as she gave him a shove forwards. Jay looked back and gave her a glare. _Gosh does she need to be so rough? _he thought.

* * *

"We're at the front of the line! Finally!" said Jay as the team in front moved up to the sign-up desk. The six have been slowly moving up the line in the past while and have finally reached the head of it.

"Yeah," added Ash. "We've been waiting in line for almost forever!" Ash was also happy that they were at the front of the line now.

"Twenty minutes is more like it..." said Cilan. "But if you think so...I don't object-" Cilan was cut off by some sound.

"Tranquill!" The six of them looked up. They spotted a bunch of Tranquill flying overhead.

"Wow! A bunch of Tranquill!" said Ash. "Awesome!"

"How's a bunch of Tranquill awesome?" asked Iris confused. "They're just Tranquill. They're very common. You even had one before it evolved."

"Yeah, but a bunch of Tranquill just looks cool!" Ash continued to stared at the bunch of flying wild pigeon pokemon in awe.

Iris just merely sighed. "What a kid..."

"Next in line please!" called out a voice.

"It's the registration lady!" said Jay. "We've finally been called! Come on you guys, let's go!" The group of six walked up to the registration desk.

"Now what can I do for you bunch?" asked the lady with a smile.

"Er...I thought you could only do one thing here..." said Anna.

"And what may that be dear?"

"Signing-up for the pokemon world championships."

"Oh. You're right dear, there is only one thing for this place and it's to register for the pokemon world championships." Everyone sweatdropped.

"Anyways..." spoke Ash. "We came here to sign-up our team for the pokemon world championships."

"Alright, so what are the names of the participating members?" asked the lady. "Remember, there needs to be three members and one sub so that makes four in total."

"Hmm...who should we make the sub be..." mused Jay. _Ruling myself out because I'm not going to be sub _he thought.

"I'll be the substitute!" said Cilan as he raised his index finger up.

Ash turned around to face Cilan. "Are you sure?" he asked. Ash wanted to ask just to make sure Cilan was definite about his decision.

"I'm sure," he replied. Cilan was locked on his decision and wasn't going to change it.

"Are you sure?" asked Ash once again. He asked once again just incase Cilan wanted to change. "

"Yes I'm sure," replied Cilan once again. "Do you think I'm going to change my mind that quickly?"

"Are you sure?" asked Ash yet again. He asked one last time just to get Cilan mad. He knew he succeeded because Cilan yelled. "OF COURSE I'M SURE!" That yell silenced everyone within the venue and attracted their attentions.

"Whoa! Geez Cilan, maybe you should calm down a bit," said Ash. "I was only asking just to make sure." _Two of those times were at least..._thought Ash.

"Well you didn't need to," said Cilan. "I'm always sure about what I'm doing." He was annoyed and it was evident in his voice.

_Yeah right! He's not ALWAYS sure about what he's doing! I'm going to make a fool of him right now to prove it! _thought Iris.

"Alright then Cilan. If you're always sure about what you're doing, then answer these questions," said Iris with a wicked grin. "Are you a boy?"

_What is Iris up to? _thought Cilan. He replied to Iris' question. "Yes."

"Do you have green hair?"

"Yes."

"Do you have two brothers?

"Yes." _I wonder where Iris is going with this? _thought Cilan.

"Are you a pokemon connoisseur?"

"Yes."

"Do you have male genitals?"

"Um...yes..." _This is getting annoying _thought Cilan. _I should just answer yes to all these questions because I know it'll be right._

Iris continued with her questions. "Do you have green eyes?"

"Yes."

"Do you wear nappies when you go to sleep?"

"Yes."

Everyone was shocked when they heard Cilan's reply. Some people who heard it started to laugh. "Er...Cilan..." said Jay. "Yes?" asked Cilan. "Do you actually wear nappies when you go to sleep?"

"Yeah." Cilan then realized what he just said. "Wait a minute. That reply was a mistake. I don't wear nappies." He was waving both his hands in front of himself to signalize what he said was not true.

The sound of the laughter was too loud for anyone to hear him. "Honestly, I don't." Everyone still didn't hear him. He sighed. _What a way to make a fool of myself... _he thought.

"Ahem!" The registration lady cleared her throat to get their attention. The six of them turned to the lady. "Weren't you guys signing-up for the world championships?" She was getting a bit irritated and impatient.

"Oh, right," said Jay. "Yes we were."

"So have you guys decided your team members or something?"

"Um...yeah."

"So what are the names?"

"It's Jay, Ash and Anna." The lady wrote down some things.

"And who is your sub?"

"Our sub will be Mr Diaper!" replied Jay.

"Haha, very funny," said Cilan sarcastically.

"Seriously," said the lady. Her face had a very solemn look. "What is his name? Not his nickname, his name."

"It's Cilan!" he replied himself. "An A-Class pokemon connoisseur!"

"Wait, you don't happen to be the Cilan do you?" asked the woman.

"Excuse me for asking but what do you mean by the Cilan?"

"Like as in the Cilan. The one and only Cilan."

"Um...I still don't get you..."

"Don't worry...forget about it..." The lady then writ something down. "All right! Now for the last bit of the registration! What is your team name?"

"Team name...I never thought of that..." mused Ash as he placed his finger on his chin and stared blankly into the air.

"I know! We should be called team Pokestars!" said Anna. She sounded really proud of her made up team name.

"Well that does sound ok..." said Ash a bit unsure.

"Come on Ash. The name is good enough. Let's just use it," said Jay.

"Well ok then."

"So it's team Pokestars?" asked the lady just to make sure.

"Yep! Our team will be called team Pokestars," said Jay.

The lady then writ some things down. "Ok. Your team's registration has been successful. Remember to come to the actual event."

"Don't worry, we will..." said Iris. _Of course they were going to remember to come! What does that woman think we are? Goldfish? _she thought.

"Now come on," said Jay. "We've already signed-up so we should be going now."

"Yeah! Come on guys! We can't just stick around here all day!" said Ash.

* * *

Ash and his friends were walking down the streets, each munching away on an ice-cream cone at the same time.

"Mmm! This tastes delicious!" exclaimed Ash in satisfaction as he licked his ice cream. "So good! Almost as good as a Casteliacone!"

"Mmm! This cone tastes so good! Almost as good as a Casteliacone!" said Cilan, also satisfied. "It's so soft and creamy and smooth and delicious and...and soft...and...and..."

"Er...you said soft twice..." said Iris.

Anna laughed. "Is Cilan always like this with food?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Um...yeah...well...most of the time at least," replied Ash. He then licked his ice cream again.

They continued walking for a little before Anna suddenly stopped walking.

Everyone else stopped walking and looked at her. "What are you doing? Why did you stop walking?" asked Iris. "Shh!" shushed Anna. "Listen closely."

The other five went silent and focused hard on listening. They heard a faint sound. A sound of a voice.

"Yeah, I hear it now," said Jay. "What is it?"

"It sounds like someone's voice..." mused Rose.

The voice was rapidly growing louder and louder. "Out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way!" the voice said repetitively.

The person emitting the voice became visible to them. It was a blonde haired female with a green beret. She was running straight to them. To be more precise, she was running straight to Ash.

"Out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way!" the girl continuously said whilst running straight at Ash.

"Oh no! Ash! Look out!" yelled Iris and Cilan in unison. They both knew what was about to happen.

Ash turned around and saw the blonde haired girl running directly at him. "Out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way!" she was yelling. She had her arms extended out in front of her.

"WAAHHH!" screamed Ash. Pikachu jumped out from Ash's shoulder just before the girl rammed him.

Two nearby shopkeepers were carrying a giant fish tank full of water, which Ash fell right into. The shopkeepers were surprised by the event and dropped the giant fish tank onto the ground. It did not crack or break though.

Every stranger nearby who watched the incident was just staring with shocked expressions.

"Pika pi!" called out Pikachu.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry Ash!" apologized the hasty girl.

"Bianca! Can you just be careful next time!" yelled Iris. "This has got to be the one hundredth time this has happened! Are you doing this on purpose or something?" Iris was getting sick of the recurring accident where Bianca would knock Ash into some body of water.

Ash emerged from the surface of the water. He spit some water from his mouth before saying, "I'm fine guys! There's no need to worry!" He then gave a thumbs up.

"Who ever said we were worried?" asked Iris. "I'm not."

"Come on guys! Let's help Ash out of that glass tank shall we?" said Cilan.

* * *

They were at Jay's house now, with the group of friends doing various things.

Ash and his Pikachu were sitting down, drying his wet clothes by putting it near the fireplace. Cilan was helping Jay's mother with some things in the kitchen. Jay, Anna, Rose and Bianca were watching the television. Iris was just looking around the house.

"So that has happened before? This isn't the first time you've bumped Ash into some water?" asked Rose.

"I'm not to proud to admit but this has happened a few times before," replied Bianca.

"A few times? This has happened about a million times already!" spoke Ash from near the fireplace.

"Ok, so this has happened about a million times before. They were all just accidents, I swear!"

"Accidents? You either must be the most clumsiest person in the world or...you must be doing this on purpose!" said Jay as he gave a loud laugh. _She must be doing this on purpose _his mind decided.

"Jay, your house is really nice!" complimented Iris. "It's so cool!" She wasn't usually some sort of house dweller, so her compliments on a house were rarely used. Jay's house was honestly pretty impressive to her. It was perfect in every way. The clean and well kept rooms, the convenient features, the stylish furniture, everything. This was like a house straight from her dreams...even though she's never dreamt of a house before.

"I'm glad you think so!" said Jay. "My mum does her best to keep the house clean. Well...other than the welcome mat outside that is." Sometimes, Jay wondered how his mum could clean the whole house, but totally miss cleaning the welcome mat. Maybe she wanted the mat to stay dirty, but that didn't seem like a realistic answer. _I guess I'll just never know..._thought Jay.

A television ad snapped him out of his thoughts.

**Ready to win it all? If the answer is yes, then this might be what you've been looking for. We are holding the first ever Pokemon World Tournament! Any bunch of trainers can enter the team tournament and the sign-ups for the preliminaries will be taking place during the next few days. Every town will hold the preliminaries for the tournament, so all you trainers out there can enter at the closest one! What are you guys waiting for? Rush to the closest town and register now!**

"So I see they are putting up TV ads for the world tournament too," said Rose. "They must really want a lot of trainers to enter."

"Well it is the world tournament after all," said Anna. "What's a world tournament without thousands, maybe even millions of competitors hmm?"

"Well you've got a point there..." said Rose.

"Of course I've got a point! I've always got a point!"

_No you don't. You're wrong half the time _thought Jay. Of course, he kept those thoughts to himself. If he were to say them, he would probably receive about five powerful slaps to each cheek. He wasn't really keen on that, hence why Jay kept quiet.

"Hey Jay, what is this thing?" asked Iris somewhere in the house.

"What thing?" questioned Jay. He stood up from the couch.

"Um...it's some robot looking thingy in your bedroom I think!" replied Iris. Jay's eyes widened, as he now knew what Iris was talking about. If Iris were to do what he thought she would, Iris would be in for a whole lot of trouble.

"What does this button do?" asked Iris. Jay ran to his room and found her observing his robot, his guard robot. Jay saw that she was pointing at the red button on the robot's metallic body.

"No Iris! Don't press that button!" warned Jay. "You want me to press the button?" asked Iris.

"No! I said don't press the button!" replied Jay. "Ok!" said Iris. She then pressed the red button.

Jay was just standing there, shocked at what Iris had just done. _What has she put herself into..._he thought. The robot beeped into life. The red lights on its arms were flashing rapidly and the alarm on its head was blaring.

Iris screamed in terror. "W-what in the w-world is t-this?" stuttered Iris. She was slowly backing away from the robot. "It's my guard robot!" answered Jay. "Pressing the red button activates it and makes it attack the first person it sees! It will not stop until the target is annihilated!" "T-that's just g-great," said Iris while stumbling over her own words.

"Jay! What are you doing now?" asked his mother in a demanding tone from the kitchen. "Whatever it is, make it more quiet!"

"Don't worry mum! I'll shut it!" _So to shut it, all I need to do is press the green button. I've already done this before so it shouldn't be a problem _thought Jay.

Iris was still backing away from the robot slowly. She was not aware that the remote of Jay's bedroom television was right behind her.

"Iris! Look out!" yelled Jay. "Wha?" Iris was searching the ground for the hazard until she tripped over it. She landed onto the ground with a loud boom.

It was then that everyone in the house appeared at Jay's bedroom doorway. They were covering their ears, while watching the scene.

"Jay! You know your guard robot isn't a toy!" yelled his mother. "Turn it off before it hurts your friend!"

"I'm on it mum!" replied Jay. He knew he didn't have much time left before Iris would be attacked. She was on the ground, watching in horror as the robot brang its arms into the air, preparing to strike.

Just as the robot was about to bring its arms down on Iris, it suddenly shut down. Jay had pressed the green button. Iris was relieved that she was saved. She still felt a bit shaky though.

"Need a hand?" Jay offered his hand to Iris. Iris grabbed onto it and was helped back up.

"Thanks Jay," she thanked sincerely. She was really grateful for his help.

"There's no need to thank me. I was just helping out a friend from obliteration." He gave her a smile. _I think I'll take back all those times I called him a kid _thought Iris.

"That was close!" said Ash. "Iris would've been hurt if it wasn't for Jay! He saved her in the nick of time!" Ash was clearly impressed with him.

"Hey, I could've done that too!" said Anna. She crossed her arms and turned her head to the side with a 'humph'.

Ash started to laugh. "What's so funny?" questioned Iris. She wanted to know why Ash was laughing.

"It's just that-" Ash was cut off by his own laughter. "What Anna just did kinda reminds me of a friend."

"One of us?" asked Jay. But before Ash could answer, Jay's mother walked into the room.

"It's almost sundown now," she told. "I think it would be best if you were all to leave now. It'll get dark real quickly so going as soon as possible would be ideal."

Everyone with the exception of Jay stood up. "Alright then, thanks for letting us stay here..." said Cilan. He was a bit stuck on what to call Jay's mother. "Er...Jay's mother."

"It's been a pleasure!" she replied with a smile. "Now off you guys go before it gets to dark to see!"

* * *

"Thank you all for coming to watch this going-to-be fiery event!" said the host. "I am glad to see so many people pop up here to do so!" The red haired host was addressing the crowd with a microphone. You see, it was the day of the tournament and it was going to start really soon.

Ash along with his friends, were sitting in the venue's cafeteria, snacking on things before the actual tournament began. Also, they were watching the TV screen positioned above the cafeteria's entrance. It was viewing the host as he was making his speech.

"I still can't believe that Chili got the position of being the host for the preliminaries here," said Ash. "I find it a bit funny."

"To be honest so do I," said Cilan. "At first though, they were going to make me the host. Although when they found that I was participating, Chili was made the host instead."

Anna turned around to the duo talking. "Be quiet you two!" shushed Anna. "Chili is about to tell the rules!" She then turned back to the screen. Ash and Cilan did the same.

"Now for the rules of this tournament!" announced Chili. He paused and took a brief glance at the cue cards in his hands before speaking again. "Like you guys would already know, this will be a team knockout tournament. To move onto the next round, a team has to win two three on three pokemon battles against their opponent team. Each team member can only battle once each round, so it is restricted for a trainer to battle the same team twice. A team has to report their team order to a tournament organizer before their battles, so they can then report it to me. It also should be known that a team can change their team order before each round. Please also note that subs are only to be used when another member is unable to participate in the next match." Chili took another short pause. "And that covers the basic things of the tournament. If any competitors have any questions regarding the tournament, they are to ask info center located right outside the stadium entrance. The winning team of this preliminary will move onto the next stage of the world tournament, which will be held in Nimbasa City."

"I hope we are the ones to do so," said Jay. Chili's voice made Jay turn his attention back to the screen.

"Now without further ado, we will let the tournament commence!" The crowd cheered wildly. It took a while but the cheers eventually died down.

"For the first match, we have team Lily Angels verse team Pokestars! We wish both teams good luck!" The crowd loudly cheered again.

"Us first?" said Anna with surprise. She stood up from her seat. "Come on guys! We need to go now to inform an organizer of our team's order!"

"Chill Anna! We don't need to rush!" said Jay calmly.

"What do you mean 'we don't need to rush'? Of course we do! Come on and hurry!"

* * *

"Hey, are you a tournament organizer?" asked Jay as the group approached a formally dressed man.

The man turned around. "Indeed I am," he replied. "I'm assuming you guys are team Pokestars?"

"Yes we are, and we came to inform you of our team order," said Anna.

"Alright then." The man got out a clipboard with a piece of paper. "What is it?"

"So who shall we send in first?" asked Anna. "You guys can decide." You see, she really mind which order the team was in.

"Ok then, I'll go first if you guys don't mind!" said Ash.

"And I'll go second then!" said Jay.

"In that case, I'll go last," said Anna.

"So has your team decided the order?" asked the man.

"Yeah," replied Anna. She then told the man of their team's order.

"Alright then, you guys are set. Now go out there and fight the first match. You guys are a bit late."

"Got it! Now come on Pikachu! We've got a battle to win!" cried Ash excitedly.

"Pi pikachu!" His yellow friend shared his excitement. The two then disappeared down the hallway, almost as fast as lightning.

* * *

"The first battle of the tournament will now start, but first, let me introduce to you guys the competitors!" announced Chili. "On the right side of me, the first representative from team Pokestars!"

Ash stepped out into the stadium. He looked around and saw everyone had their eyes on him.

"Everyone, its Ash from Pallet Town!" The crowd cheered wildly as Ash took his position on the battlefield.

"And now, the first representative from team Lily Angels!"

Ash saw a girl step out into the stadium. He gazed at her. She had long blue hair and blue eyes. She wore a black and pink sleeveless mini dress, a white undershirt and pink boots. She also had a white beanie on with half of a pokeball on the front.

_I'm sure I've seen this girl somewhere...she looks very familiar..._Ash thought. He was mentally racking his brain, wondering where he's seen her before. It was then that it had struck him. He knew who she was now. _It can't be her...can it?_ he thought. Chili's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Everyone, give it up for Dawn from Twinleaf Town!" his voice rung throughout the stadium.

She walked up to her side of the battlefield before looking directly at her opponent.

"Alright, get ready to be beaten!" Dawn then got out a pokeball and enlarged it. She just stood there for a few moments, staring hard at her opponent before realizing something.

"W-wait...is that...you Ash?"

* * *

**I hope you guys thought this chapter was at least a little bit good.**

**Also, reviews are welcome!**


	5. Pokestars vs Lily Angels! Ash vs Dawn!

**I'm really sorry that it took a long time for this update. I'll try not to do this anymore in the future.**_  
_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any sort of way (with the exception of this story and the OCs)**

**Also, you will realise that this chapter has a bit where the characters say similar stuff from the episode 'Dazzling The Nimbasa Gym'. Anyone who has watched that episode will know it.**

**And now let the fifth chapter begin!**

* * *

_Is this a dream...? _thought Dawn. She couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not. Seeing the trainer she was up against shocked her more than she's ever been in her life. You see, Dawn had feelings for that guy, that guy being Ash. She has had those feelings for a while now but just kept it to herself.

Ash, who was standing on the opposite side of the battlefield, was also shocked. He was unknowingly staring blankly at Dawn while thinking. _Who ever knew I'd be facing Dawn in the first battle of the championships...this caught me off guard big time..._

Ash snapped himself out from his astonished state. He then grabbed a pokeball out and said, "I never thought I'd be facing you in the first battle of the championships. It gave me a real surprise." He then gave a slight smile. "Now, how about we battle!" Ash was getting really excited about this.

Dawn snapped out of her shocked state. She then gave a polite nod before speaking. "Alright! Let's battle Ash!" She already had an enlarged pokeball in her hands.

* * *

"You guys know who that girl is?" asked Jay curiously as they watched the broadcast of the battle.

"Hmm...yes. I believe we may have seen her somewhere before..." pondered Cilan as he placed his index finger on his chin and tilted his head diagonally. He was trying hard to remember.

"You idiot!" shouted Iris. The purple haired girl swiftly whacked Cilan on the back of the head with her hand. "Of course we've seen her before! It's Dawn! Don't you remember our time at Undella Town?"

"Oh yeah...I remember now..." said Cilan. "But Iris, did you have to whack me so forcefully on the back of my head? It hurts now. I don't think I'll be doing any of my evaluation times for a while." The green haired man was rubbing the back of his head to try and soothe the pain.

Iris smiled. "That's better then. I don't like to listen to your dumb evaluations anyways! You always overexaggerate with them!"

"What are evaluation times?" asked Jay inquisitively.

Iris flinched for a bit before replying, "You do not want to know! All I'll say is that it's some form of torture!"

Jay was confused. It was visible on his face. "You've got to be joking right? It doesn't sound that brutal."

"Tch! Fine then, don't believe me. The next time he does it, you would have wished you believed me."

"Come on guys! Stop talking and just watch the screen!" snapped Anna. She was annoyed and it was really obvious.

"Ok then..." sighed Jay.

They all turned their faces back to the screen.

* * *

"Servine, I choose you!" Ash threw his pokeball. The white and red ball split open and out came the grass snake pokemon.

"So I see your Snivy has evolved from the last time I saw it!" said Dawn.

"Yep. Our training is what made it possible, right Servine?"

"Servine!" It nodded its head.

_Always training hard with his pokemon. That's definitely the Ash I know! _Dawn thought. She has always been really fond of Ash's dedication to training his pokemon. It inspired her to do the same.

"Hey Dawn, aren't you going to send in your pokemon?" asked Ash. He was getting slightly impatient, although he didn't show it.

"Oh, right." Dawn straightened herself up. "Typhlosion, spotlight!" She threw in the pokeball from her hands. It split and out came the volcano pokemon.

"I see your Quilava has evolved also!" spoke Ash.

"Yep!" Dawn raised her fists up into the air in front of her. "Now Ash, get ready to be beaten in battle!"

"Oh yeah, bring it Dawn!" The two eyed each other with smirks on their faces.

The referee then spoke. "Ok! This will be a three on three battle with substitutions for both sides allowed! The winner will be decided when all pokemon on one side are unable to battle! Now..." The referee's voice faded.

Everyone watching was waiting silently for that call.

* * *

"Come on referee, just let the battle begin already!" said Jay impatiently. He didn't like to wait. Never did and probably never will.

Rose put her hands on his shoulder. "Come on Jay, can't you wait? Even just for a few seconds?"

"Let the battle begin!" declared the referee. This gave Rose such a fright, she fell down backwards off the seat and landed onto the ground roughly.

"Rose!" exclaimed Jay. He got out from his seat and helped Rose back up.

"Thanks Jay," she said with gratitude. They just stared at each other's eyes with smiles on their faces.

"Alright you two, stop with the lovey-dovey thing and just watch the battle!" spoke Anna. She then turned back to the screen.

The Jay and Rose both blushed before staring back up at the screen and watching the battle.

* * *

"Servine, Leaf Blade let's go!" ordered Ash. The grass type leapt into the air and its tail began glowing green.

"Typhlosion, use SmokeScreen!" commanded Dawn. The volcano pokemon released thick, black, opaque smoke from its mouth at the opponent.

Servine became shrouded in the dark smoke while it was still midair. It immediately halted its attack. The grass snake pokemon lost its composure and started descending quickly and uncontrollably.

"Now Typhlosion, Eruption!"

The fire type spewed out a stream of red-hot flames from its mouth, straight at its opponent. Servine couldn't react, and was therefore hit by the powerful fire attack.

The grass snake pokemon was blasted right back to where it started off in the battle, a few metres in front of its trainer. The pokemon crashed violently onto the ground.

"Servine are you ok?" asked Ash. His pokemon slowly rose up again. It then looked back at its trainer. "Servine!" it replied with a nod.

"Ash!" called out a voice from the other side of the field. He looked up and faced Dawn.

"Do you see how much stronger I've gotten? I've been training real hard ever since I last saw you in Undella Town! I think I can beat you now!"

Ash gave smirk. "You know Dawn, I've gotten a lot stronger too! I'll even show ya! Servine, use Vine Whip!"

The grass type pokemon extended out its two vines and used them as whips to attack its opponent.

Typhlosion tried to withstand the attack but it wasn't strong enough to. The attack lashed out some damage on Typhlosion.

The fire type had scratches and cuts all over its body, but it was still in a fine condition for battle. Typhlosion roared out its name loudly.

"Ok, now it's our turn! Typhlosion, use Flame Wheel!" ordered Dawn.

Her pokemon followed the command, rolling towards its opponent while being cloaked in fiery flames.

"Servine, dodge it!" told Ash.

The grass snake pokemon jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.

"Now Servine, use Leaf Storm!"

Servine leapt into the air and spun around, gathering a mass amount of leaves around its body. It then fired the heap of leaves straight at Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion, use Eruption!" ordered Dawn.

Her pokemon was about to prepare the attack when a barrage of leaves suddenly hit it. The attack inflicted massive damage to Typhlosion. It was barely even standing up.

"Alright Servine time to wrap this up! Use Leaf Blade!" commanded Ash.

The grass snake pokemon leapt up into the air, with its tail glowing green. Servine then performed a few front-flips before slamming down its tail vertically onto Typhlosion's face. This attack finished the battle off with Typhlosion lying flat on the ground with swirls as eyes and Servine who was still up and had only sustained minor damage.

* * *

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" announced the referee. "This means that Servine wins the first round!"

Ash pumped his fist into the air. "Alright!" he said with joy. "One down and two to go!"

"Great! Ash beat her first pokemon!" said Jay. "Things will get easier from here!"

"I wouldn't be too sure..." said Cilan.

"Why not? It's two against three. How can Daniele-"

"It's Dawn!" corrected Iris.

"Yeah whatever, anyways, how can she beat Ash when he has more pokemon than her?"

"Well you see Jay, victory is not decided by how many dishes there are, but instead is based on how good the dishes actually taste."

Jay was really confused by Cilan's reply. "Is he talking about a cooking competition?"

"No," answered Iris. "It's just his way of talking. I get confused sometimes as well."

"Shh! Some of us are trying to watch a battle!" said Anna. She turned back to the screen.

_Geez, does she always have to tell us to be quiet? _thought Jay.

* * *

"Return," said Dawn slightly disappointed with the outcome. The red light dematerialized Typhlosion and went back into the pokeball. "Now you take a nice rest." She then replaced Typhlosion's pokeball with another and looked up at Ash.

"Nice one Ash! I applaud you to taking down my Typhlosion!"

"Thanks! Your Typhlosion was pretty strong! I wasn't even sure Servine could've beat it!" said Ash.

Dawn gave a slight smirk before saying, "Now Ash, I hope you're ready for my second pokemon because here it comes! Togekiss, spotlight!"

The pokeball was thrown in a split upon contact with the ground. White light was released, and the jubilee pokemon materialized in the air.

"You can have the starting move!" said Dawn.

"Alright then, in that case use Attract!" ordered Ash.

* * *

"Attract? Is Ash serious?" said Iris. She thought Ash was insane for using the move.

"Well it is a good move," said Jay. "It makes your opponent become infatuated."

"Yeah, but it doesn't when both pokemon are of the same gender!"

* * *

Servine winked and formed some pink love hearts. It then launched them at Togekiss. The jubilee pokemon just stayed calmly put as the love hearts surrounded it and began circling around. The pink hearts then drew themselves in at Togekiss. The attack made contact with the normal and flying type, but it didn't do a single thing.

"Er...Ash...isn't your Servine a female?" questioned Dawn. She was curious about why the attack didn't affect Togekiss in any way.

Ash thought for a moment before his eyes widened. "Ah of course! I totally forgot!" cried out Ash.

Dawn, Chili, as well as the spectators, all sweatdropped.

* * *

Meanwhile in the cafeteria Jay, Rose, Anna, Iris and Cilan sweatdropped as well.

"Are you serious? Who forgets the gender of their pokemon? This is absolute madness!" said Jay. He was stunned, and his face showed that.

"I know right, this is the first time I've seen anything like this happen," said Rose. She had a similar facial expression to Jay's.

"How many times has this already happened? Ash should already know that attract doesn't work between girls!" said Iris.

"Very true, although this is Ash after all," spoke Cilan.

Anna just remained speechless with a stupefied face.

* * *

"So what you're saying is that you forgot your Servine's gender? Are you trying to make me laugh?" Dawn asked. To be honest, she was trying holding in her laughter. She thought that this was funny. No one has ever forgotten the gender of his or her pokemon, and to see it for the first time was quite hilarious.

"I was meant to forget," lied Ash. "Anyways." He put on his battling face again. "Let's continue this battle shall we?"

"Sure thing," replied Dawn.

"Ok, let the battle continue!" announced the ref as he brang his arm down from the air.

"All right Servine, use Leaf Blade!" told Ash.

The grass snake pokemon leapt into the air with its tail glowing bright green.

"Dodge the attack Togekiss, then use Sky Attack!" ordered Dawn.

Just as Servine's tail was coming down, Togekiss flew away and avoided the attack. It then executed a loop in the air and came charging down at its opponent with its two wings out and white aura surrounding it.

"Watch out Servine!" shouted Ash. Servine looked back and spotted its opponent incoming. Before the grass type could do anything though, it was hit by Sky Attack and knocked backwards onto the ground.

"Alright! It's time to finish it Togekiss! Use Air Slash!" commanded Dawn.

The jubilee pokemon formed a ball of air with its wings and then fired it at Servine.

"Servine, get up and dodge it!" ordered Ash. Servine tried to get up but it couldn't. It was too weak to do that. The Air Slash attack hit the grass snake pokemon directly on the chest. It was sent flying backwards and landed face-up onto the ground in front of its trainer. The eyes Servine had were replaced with swirls.

"Servine is unable to battle, so this round goes to Togekiss!" announced the referee.

"Alright! We beat Servine, and its all because of you Togekiss!" said Dawn. She was jumping up and down with happiness.

"Return Servine," said Ash as his pokemon dematerialized back into its pokeball. He felt a little disappointed. "Now take a nice long rest," he spoke to his pokeball.

* * *

"It looks like Dawn won that one..." stated Cilan. "The scores are even again."

"So its two pokemon left on each side..." said Rose. "I wonder who'll win this battle..."

_Come on Ash...you gotta win this battle...if you don't...pressure will be on me the next round...and I don't like pressure..._Jay thought. He was really hoping for Ash to win. He even had his fingers crossed tightly.

* * *

Ash grabbed out another pokeball. "Nice battling Dawn! You have become quite a battler." That was honestly the truth. She has improved quite a lot it seems.

"Thanks! I have been training like crazy for these past few years!" spoke Dawn.

Ash laughed for a little before saying, "You probably torture them to get 'em this good!"

"I don't torture them Ash!" said Dawn furiously. The expression on her face looked really deadly, as if she was about to murder someone.

"Whoa! Calm down Dawn! You know I'm only kidding!" Ash was attempting to calm her down. He was even using hand gestures to tell her this.

"This isn't the time for kidding around Ash! Just come on and send in your pokemon already!" She was currently a bit cranky. Wait, make that a tiny bit more than just a bit.

"Fine then."

Ash enlarged his pokeball. "Alright Dawn, get ready for my second pokemon now! Gible, I choose you!" He threw in his pokeball and out came the land shark pokemon. Ash smirked. "Ya know, I've had enough time playing around now! It's time I got serious!"

"I'm gonna get serious too! Get ready to lose Ash!" spoke Dawn. She had just as much confidence as Ash did. It also appears that her fury has disappeared.

_She's already lost her anger. That was quick _thought Ash.

He then replied to Dawn's words, "Ha! Like that's going to happen! Gible, let's start you off with Dig!"

The land shark pokemon leapt into the air before coming back down and digging itself underground.

Dawn searched the ground cautiously, hoping to find a sign of where Gible was going to come out from. A few seconds passed and the surface of the ground directly beneath Togekiss began shaking slightly.

"Togekiss! Look out! Underneath you!" she yelled. At that moment, Gible burst out from underground. It had its arms out, ready to hit the jubilee pokemon with them.

Togekiss flew away and avoided the attack with ease.

"Now Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!" commanded Dawn.

The normal and flying type put its wings together and began forming a blue ball of aura between them.

"Gible, quickly use Dragon Pulse!" ordered Ash. Gible opened its wide mouth while it was still midair and started to form a greenish-blue orb inside of it.

Both pokemon released their attacks. The spheres were blasted right at each other and exploded upon contact, creating smoke as well.

Gible landed back onto the ground, while Togekiss stayed in the skies.

It took a little while, but the smoke eventually disappeared. The two pokemon now had a clear view of each other again. They both grinned confidently towards one another.

"This battle seems to have both of them worked up!" stated Ash.

"Your right! It definitely seems that way!" said Dawn. "Togekiss seems really satisfied at the challenge Gible is putting up!"

"Same goes for my Gible!"

* * *

"Both pokemon seem even in strength," remarked Cilan. "At this point, it's really hard to say who'll win out of the two."

"My guess is that Dawn will win the battle!" spoke Iris with her mouth full. She was munching away on an apple she somehow got.

"Er...Iris...you shouldn't be talking with your mouth full..." said Rose. "It's kinda gross..."

"Yeah! What she said," uttered Jay. "Hey, and where did you get that apple? I feel like eating one now."

"I got it from an apple tree just outside over there!" Iris pointed out the window and at a tree outside, full of red apples.

"Great! Thanks Iris!" And with that Jay ran out the entrance and to the apple tree.

* * *

"Togekiss, use Air Slash!" ordered Dawn.

The jubilee pokemon lifted one of its wings up and began twirling it around. An orb of light blue air was forming.

The attack was ready now and Togekiss hurled the air ball straight to Gible.

"Gible, dodge it and then use Rock Smash!" ordered Ash.

Gible jumped to the side, letting its opponent's attack hit the ground without harming anyone. Gible then leapt into the air towards its opponent with its fist glowing.

"Togekiss, use Flamethrower!" instructed Dawn.

Her normal and flying type pokemon let loose some scorching flames at the incoming Gible.

The land shark pokemon halted its attack when it saw the attack coming, but couldn't do a thing about it quick enough. Gible was hit by the fire and was repelled back onto the ground, landing brutally on its front side.

"Oh no Gible!" yelled Ash.

His pokemon slowly, but eventually arose again. It had marks all over its body, but still had the will to fight. "Gible!" it cried. The land shark pokemon sounded a significantly weaker than before.

"Gible, can you go on?" asked Ash a little worried. He wanted to know if Gible still wanted to battle.

Gible weakly nodded. Ash paused and thought for a moment. _Gible doesn't look so good anymore. I know that it wants to battle some more, but it'll be better if it took a rest for now. _He began speaking again. "You don't look so well Gible. I'm sorry but it'll be better if you take a rest now. You've done good enough anyways." Ash got out its pokeball.

"Return!" A red light came out and dematerialized the dragon and ground type, then went back into the pokeball.

* * *

"Ash is deciding to switch pokemon now? Should he have done that?" asked Rose. She thought Ash should've let Gible stay in battle.

"Well actually, it was pretty wise of Ash to do so," said Cilan. "His Gible barely had any energy left."

"Oh, ok."

They then heard Iris laughing out loud. Cilan and Rose turned and looked at her. "What's so funny?" asked Rose. She was wondering why Iris was laughing.

"Just look," pointed Iris. She then continued to laugh.

Cilan and Rose both turned to the direction Iris pointed at and spotted Jay jumping up and down like a lunatic, trying desperately to grab an apple off the apple tree.

"Come on! How am I supposed to get an apple off this tree?" they heard him say out loud. "This is an outrage!"

Rose started giggling. "Well it is kinda funny," she said in between her giggles.

"Yeah, a little," added Cilan. He chuckled for a bit.

* * *

"So who is it your going to send in now?" asked Dawn.

"That decision is easy," replied Ash. He was sure about which pokemon he was going to select.

Ash turned his head around and faced his yellow companion on his left shoulder. "Are you ready Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!" it replied enthusiastically.

"Alright then, take the stage!" He let his Pikachu jump onto the battlefield. The mouse pokemon sparked its cheeks, showing it was ready for battle.

"So you decide to choose you ace huh?" asked Dawn.

"Yeah! I'm betting this match on him!" replied Ash.

"It seems like you're really depending on Pikachu!"

"Yep, totally!" Ash gave a confident grin.

Dawn giggled for a little before saying, "Very gutsy Ash! It's so like you!"

Ash gave a small laugh. "I guess so." He then paused before pointing directly at Dawn. "Now, I'll let you have the first move! Alright?"

"Sounds good to me!" replied Dawn. She then paused for a little before giving an order. "Alright Togekiss, let's use Air Slash!"

The jubilee pokemon lifted a wing up and twirled it in a circle. A light blue ball began forming. After the attack was ready, Togekiss tossed it at Pikachu's direction.

"All right Pikachu, let's use Thunderbolt!" commanded Ash.

The mouse pokemon leapt up into the air and released a line of electricity straight at the incoming air sphere.

Both attacks collided and formed a heap of thick smoke.

"That looks like a tie!" stated Dawn. She was sure of it.

Ash grinned. "Dawn, you should take a look at what's happening."

She looked back up and saw Pikachu fly out from inside the cloud of smoke.

"Now Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" ordered Ash.

The electric type turned its tail into steel. It then did a few front flips before slamming down the steel tail onto Togekiss.

The jubilee pokemon was sent rocketing downwards, back towards the hard earth. The pokemon hit the ground with a lot of force, so much that even a rock would've cracked in half.

"Now, let's finish Togekiss off with Quick Attack!" instructed Ash.

Pikachu rocketed down swiftly straight to the still grounded Togekiss. It was also leaving a trail of white energy behind it as it was coming down with mad speed.

"Togekiss, spin to dodge!" ordered Dawn.

Her Togekiss picked itself back up and flew straight towards the fast approaching Pikachu. The jubilee pokemon performed a spin with good timing and dodged the mouse pokemon's attack.

Pikachu landed back onto the ground on all fours. It then stared up at its ascending opponent.

"Togekiss, use Sky Attack!" called out Dawn.

The normal and flying type did a graceful loop before charging back down at its opponent with a surrounding white aura.

"Pikachu, stay put until I give you the next order!" said Ash.

* * *

"What?! Is he nuts or something?" said Rose in surprise. "Is he just going to let Pikachu get hit by the attack?" She was totally shocked.

"No, I don't think that's it," uttered Cilan. "Knowing Ash, he probably has some sort of plan up his sleeve." He was sure about this assumption. There was hardly a time where Ash never had a clever plan. He has watched hundreds of Ash's battles in the past and in most of them, he would execute some sort of awesome move that would turn the tables completely and earn him a win.

"Hey guys! I finally got an apple!" said Jay suddenly and with joy as he came back to the table. He showed everyone the red apple he had in his hands.

Iris laughed a little. "So I see you got an apple at last!"

"Yep! And I can finally eat it now!" Jay was just about to take a bite of the apple when suddenly, "Just shush up and watch the battle!" shouted Anna.

The shout gave Jay a fright and made him jerk his hands up and toss his apple away behind him. The apple flew through the air and landed onto the ground unharmed. Jay thought this was a miracle.

"Haha! The apple is still alright!" said Jay. He bent down, extended his hands and was just about to pick the apple up when a black shoe suddenly came down and crushed it.

The shoe's wearer looked down onto the ground and saw mashed apple all around the bottom of his shoe. He took a moment to take this all in. The person then lifted up his legs to check the foundation of the shoe. He saw some crushed apple stuck there. About eight blobs of white were underneath, jammed in between the patterning of the shoe's leather. "Yuck! Pieces of apple all over the bottom of my shoe!" he said disgustedly.

Jay just slid down onto his knees. He picked up the biggest piece of the apple he could find and sadly stared at it. The guy who accidently stepped on the apple thought Jay was a freak and walked away with revulsion evident on his face. Moments of silence followed. Iris decided to speak.

"Er...are you ok Jay?" asked Iris. She was just staring at the motionless ebony haired kid, who was still staring at the apple piece.

"Um...Jay?" Iris was beginning to wonder now if Jay was still conscious. Just looking at his face, Jay looked like he just had a heart attack.

Jay suddenly moved his head so that he was looking up onto the ceiling. He took a deep breath. He then expelled the carbon dioxide and then shouted at the top of his lungs, "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jay voice sounded very anguished. He was so loud, people from the other side of the city could've heard him.

Anna then turned her head around and looked at Jay with a savage glare. "Can't you just be silent for once? You're so loud!" growled Anna.

* * *

Togekiss continued to advance speedily towards its target, slicing through the air it passed by. It looked fast enough to form a gale.

Pikachu was readying itself. "Wait for it Pikachu..." spoke Ash. The mouse pokemon had its eyes focused squarely at Togekiss. It didn't even blink.

"Almost..."

Dawn's Togekiss was now flying low above the ground, horizontally headed directly at Pikachu.

"Togekiss, go!" shouted Dawn.

The normal and flying type sped up its charge. It was literally a blur now. Togekiss was really that fast.

"Pikachu, jump onto Togekiss' back!" ordered Ash.

This placed surprised expressions on everybody's faces.

* * *

"Is Ash serious?" spat out Iris in astonishment. "Pikachu won't be able to land onto Togekiss' back! Its simply just too fast!"

"I wouldn't be too sure," remarked Cilan. Iris turned her head to look at him.

"Now why aren't you too sure?" questioned Iris. She had her arms crossed in an interrogating manner.

"Well you see..." began Cilan. "During the past few weeks, Ash has been training like crazy. You can see that Ash's pokemon have grown stronger and faster compared to a month ago, it's extremely visible."

"And what are you trying to say here?" asked Iris in a slightly confused way.

"What I'm saying is that Pikachu would probably be fast enough, due to his rigorous training with Ash."

"Pft! Rigorous training you say? I still think Pikachu won't make it!"

* * *

Pikachu was sweating a bit now. A drop just went down its face. The yellow rodent knew that there was a possibility that it might fail. It tried not to think about that though.

Pikachu went back to focusing on its opponent. It saw that the jubilee pokemon wasn't that far from it now. The mouse pokemon waited for a brief second more before leaping into the air. The aim, its opponent's back.

This move caught Togekiss off guard and surprised it. The attack was immediately cancelled off, slowing down the jubilee pokemon and making the white aura that was around it disappear.

The mouse pokemon descended back down and landed squarely onto the middle of its opponent's back. It was all soft and cosy. Pikachu felt like taking a nap on it. The yellow mouse was about to let itself drop down onto the softness until it realized what it was meant to be doing. He shook his head to get rid of the lazy thoughts. It was battling now. Not relaxing.

"Togekiss, quickly get Pikachu off your back!" shouted Dawn.

"Pikachu, hang on!" shouted Ash in response.

Togekiss ascended high into the air, with Pikachu tightly hanging onto its back. The jubilee pokemon then performed a series of spins and loops through the air in an attempt to get its opponent off its back. Through that ride, Pikachu was hanging onto Togekiss' back with all its might.

After the bunch of fancy moves, Togekiss decided to fly straight again. It began to relax because it thought that Pikachu was off its back now. The normal and flying type was wrong.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash.

The mouse pokemon tensed its body before letting loose some electricity onto its flying platform (Togekiss).

The yellow electricity gave the jubilee pokemon a massive jolt and a lot of damage as well. It began losing strength. It stopped flapping its wings and started to descend rapidly from the skies. The jubilee pokemon was plummeting down so fast, maybe even rivalling the speed of a rocket.

"Pikachu, jump out from there!" yelled Ash.

The yellow rodent did as it was told. It daringly leapt off the jubilee pokemon's back like a hero in an action movie would.

Pikachu landed perfectly onto the ground on its four feet without inflicting any self-harm. On the other hand, Togekiss landed onto the ground harshly and face first. This impact emitted a loud thud, as well as creating thick clouds of smoke.

"No Togekiss!" cried Dawn. She wanted to know if her pokemon was ok.

Everyone was just silently eyeing the center of the battlefield, keen on seeing the outcome of what just happened. The clouds of smoke eventually dispersed from the air and gave the chance for everyone watching to see the result.

Togekiss was revealed fainted in the center of a small crater that was probably formed by the violent crash onto the Earth. It was lying down flat, with its wings spread out, its two feet out and its eyes replaced with swirls.

"Togekiss is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu!" announced the ref.

The loud cheers of the crowd rung throughout the stadium.

* * *

"Ash has beaten Togekiss! It's shifted into Ash's favor again!" spoke Rose.

"That's great! Now there's one more pokemon left for Ash to beat!" stated Cilan. "Although this will probably mean that Dawn will send in her premium brand pokemon."

"Um...premium brand pokemon?" Rose was lost. She didn't get what Cilan meant by 'premium brand pokemon'.

Iris decided to clear things up for Rose. "Well you see, that's just Cilan's way of saying that Dawn will send in her partner pokemon or something."

"Oh...ok..." Rose was not confused now thanks to Iris' explaining. "And do you know what her partner pokemon is?"

"Well of course. It was a...a...a...Pinsir I think it was?"

"Actually Iris, it was a Piplup," spoke Cilan with his index finger raised right next to his head in a matter-of-factly manner.

"Whatever..."

* * *

Dawn held out a pokeball. "Return!" A red light was sent out and made contact with her fainted Togekiss. The pokemon was dematerialized and was sent back into its pokeball. Dawn then pulled the pokeball closer to her mouth and spoke to it. "Thanks Togekiss. Now you deserve a good rest." She put the pokeball away and replaced it with a different one.

"Ash, are you ready for my last pokemon?" asked Dawn as she enlarged the pokeball in her hands.

"Ha! I'm ready for Mamoswine, bring it!" said Ash. He wanted to sound as confident a possible.

"Ash, I never said that the last pokemon would be Mamoswine," said Dawn.

Ash became puzzled. "Then what is the last pokemon you're going to send in?" he asked. The raven-haired boy was expecting Mamoswine to be coming up, but being told that it wasn't bemused him.

"You'll see!" Dawn grinned.

"Alright, come on out and battle!" She threw her pokeball in. The sphere split in half and a blue penguin emerged from it.

"So I see its Piplup! Why didn't I guess it was going to be him?" spoke Ash. He was mentally cursing himself inside his head for not thinking it would be Piplup.

Dawn laughed for a bit before saying, "I'm assuming you forgot about him!"

"Yeah, maybe I have..." said Ash whilst rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Dawn found herself staring intently at Ash. _Aw...he looks so cute like that..._she thought. _Ash is just so dreamy and handsome and...and..._ Dawn shook the thoughts out from her head. She knew that this wasn't the time to be thinking of Ash like that. She was in the middle of battling with him.

"Alright Ash, you ready? Because I'm going all out with my last pokemon!" Dawn said confidently.

"Piplup!" cried the penguin pokemon as it placed one of its fins on its chest overconfidently.

"Of course I'm ready! Bring it Dawn!" spoke Ash assertively.

"Pikachu!" cried the mouse pokemon as its cheeks sparked some electricity.

"If you say so Ash," said Dawn. "Piplup, use Bubblebeam!"

The penguin pokemon shot out a flurry of blue bubbles from inside its beak.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash.

The mouse pokemon released a line of yellow electricity from its entire body.

The two attacks collided forcefully with the other in the middle of the battlefield.

The electricity and bubbles were now deadlocked. Pikachu and Piplup were putting their all into the attacks, hoping to overcome the other with its own strength.

The attacks continued to collide mightily with each other in the center, until slowly but steadily, the electric attack soon began to force the bubble attack back. The reason was simple. Pikachu was more powerful.

"Keep pushing Pikachu!" shouted Ash.

"You too Piplup!" shouted Dawn.

The two pokemon put even more power into the attacks. Pikachu was discharging more electricity. Piplup was forcefully ejecting more bubbles from inside its beak. The pokemon were really determined to overpower the other. It even showed on their faces.

The mouse pokemon was still winning the deadlock. The electricity was slowly cutting through the blue bubbles, getting closer to Piplup by the second. It seemed at this rate, Piplup was going to lose very soon.

"Come on Piplup! I know you can do it! Push back!" shouted Dawn.

Piplup used up the last of its energy on its bubble attack. It vehemently fired even more bubbles out from its mouth, in an attempt to finally gain an advantage in the deadlock. This was pointless though. Piplup was out of energy now and it didn't end up forcing back the attack. Piplup dropped its attack and just stood, waiting for the attack to hit.

The Thunderbolt attack made contact with the penguin pokemon and gave it a massive jolt. "Piplup!" it cried in pain as it tried to withstand the attack.

"Piplup!" cried Dawn with worry.

Piplup was fried harshly from the electricity. It was lying down on the ground facedown, black marks as dark as charcoal all over its body. Piplup didn't look like it could go on anymore.

"Piplup! Are you ok?" asked Dawn.

Piplup didn't reply. There was just moments of no movement and silence.

"I think it might be over," spoke Ash. He thought that the battle was already decided and that he was the victor. He was wrong.

Ash focused his attention back onto the battlefield to see that Piplup was up on its feet again. The blue penguin pokemon had light blue aura emanating from itself.

"Whoa! Why does Piplup have blue around it?" Ash asked, surprised.

He then looked straight at Piplup eyes and they were light blue as well. Not its usual eye colour that's for sure.

Ash then gazed up at Dawn and saw her with a smirk on her face.

"Ash! Get ready to lose!" she said.

* * *

"Why is Piplup like that?" questioned Iris to no one in particular.

Cilan answered. "Well you see Iris, when a pokemon with the ability Torrent has a little bit of health remaining, it becomes consumed in light blue energy and this powers up all water type moves!" This was just an example of Cilan's vast knowledge.

"You can't be serious right? That ability sounds too powerful!"

"Well I am serious Iris. I'm not joking."

* * *

"Piplup!" the blue penguin cried with immense rage. A huge circle appeared in front of its beak. Then a large gush of water then came out from the circle and was blasted at Pikachu.

The attack hit Pikachu straight on the face and sent him flying backwards. The yellow rodent landed onto the ground directly in front of its trainer.

The mouse pokemon wasn't prepared to lose though. It got back up onto its four feet and glared at its provoked opponent. Piplup returned a furious glare.

"Piplup, use Ice Beam!" ordered Dawn.

The water type leapt high into the air and formed a light blue sphere in front of its beak. The pokemon then fired a beam of freezing ice towards its opponent.

"Pikachu! Dodge the attack!" instructed Ash.

Pikachu sprung high into the air and evaded the ice attack.

"Now Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

The rodent loosened a bolt of electricity straight to Piplup.

"Piplup, dodge it!" ordered Dawn.

Piplup tried to avoid the attack but it was too slow. The electric struck it and electrified it brutally.

"Yes I hit Piplup!" shouted Ash.

His yellow mouse turned its head around. "Pika..."

"Oh right, you hit him!" Ash corrected himself.

The blue penguin fell down from the air and collided onto the ground, creating lots of smoke as well.

"Piplup, no!" shouted Dawn. She hoped that even after that ferocious fall onto the ground, Piplup would still be able to battle.

The large cloud of smoke eventually cleared out, and it was revealed that Piplup was up on its feet. "Piplup!" it cried crossly.

"Man, and I thought those super effective attacks would've won me the battle!" said Ash with slight disappointment. "Piplup sure is tough!"

Dawn sighed with relief. "And I thought it was going to be over..."

"Pikachu, can you still battle?" asked Ash.

His mouse pokemon turned around. "Pika!" it cried with determination.

Ash's emotionless face transformed into a happy one.

"Alright then Pikachu, let's finish this shall we?" He gave the mouse pokemon a thumbs up.

"Pikachu!" the pokemon said.

"Ok then, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

The yellow rodent transformed its tail into shiny gray steel.

"Piplup, watch out!" called out Dawn.

Piplup looked up and spotted Pikachu in the air, descending right to it with its steel tail out. The penguin pokemon was about to jump out from its spot but the hard tail struck it first. It was a painful blow to the head. Piplup fell in a heap onto the hard earth.

Pikachu performed a series of back flips and landed back in front of its trainer.

Ash glanced at Piplup. The blue penguin didn't seem like it could go on any longer. It seemed like the battle would be his.

"Now Pikachu," said Ash. "Let's wrap this up with Electro Ball!"

Pikachu formed a sphere of yellow electricity around its raised tail. The pokemon then bounced high up onto the air, did a front flip and hurled the electric orb right to its opponent.

Piplup just watched in horror as the attack came and made contact with him, also creating a huge explosion that released masses of smoke.

_It looks like the battle is mine _thought Ash arrogantly. The clouds of smoke soon disappeared and revealed the outcome. Piplup was on the ground, lying down face up with its wings out and its eyes replaced with swirls.

_I lost..._thought Dawn.

"Piplup is unable to battle, so that means the winner of this match is Ash!" announced the referee.

The crowd began cheering like no tomorrow.

"Alright! We won!" celebrated Ash. "We won Pikachu! Great work!"

"Pikachu!" it cried joyfully. The yellow rodent then leapt up onto its trainers shoulder again.

Ash looked straight again and spotted Dawn standing in the center of the battlefield. He decided to approach to her.

"Hey Dawn!" She turned around and faced Ash. He was coming up to her.

Ash stopped right in front of Dawn. "Great fight you put up. I enjoyed every last bit of the battle," he spoke happily.

"I enjoyed it too," said Dawn. "It was fun."

"Yep, it sure was!" agreed Ash. "And Dawn, you have really improved a lot since I last saw you. I'm really impressed!"

The remark caused Dawn to blush bright red. She looked straight down onto the ground to hide her face. "Y...you really think so?"

"Yeah! Of course I do!" replied Ash. He paused for a bit before speaking again. "Also, nice battle!" He held out his hands for Dawn to shake.

Dawn turned her head up and stared straight into Ash's eyes. They were sincerely benevolent and made Dawn think. _I really missed looking at those sweet and pleasant eyes..._

Her thought was interrupted. "Um...Dawn?" Ash was wondering why Dawn was just staring blankly into his eyes.

Dawn snapped out of the thoughts and then looked at Ash's face as a whole. "Aren't you going to shake my hand?" asked Ash.

Dawn slowly shifted her focus to the hand Ash was holding out. A thought then crossed her mind. "I've got a better idea," said Dawn with a warm smile. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ash thought deeply for a moment before smiling himself. "Yep, I'm thinking what you're thinking alright!"

Both trainers raised one arm into the air and then they high-fived each other.

* * *

**I hope this chapter wasn't that bad.**

**Also, reviews are welcome :)**


	6. Pokestars vs Lily Angels! Jay vs May!

**Another chapter complete :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

"Piplup is unable to battle, so that means the winner of this match is Ash!" announced the referee.

The crowd began cheering like no tomorrow.

"Alright! We won!" celebrated Ash. "We won Pikachu! Great work!"

"Pikachu!" it cried joyfully. The yellow rodent then leapt up onto its trainers shoulder again.

* * *

"Great fight you put up. I enjoyed every last bit of the battle," he spoke happily.

"I enjoyed it too," said Dawn. "It was fun."

"Yep, it sure was!" agreed Ash. "And Dawn, you have really improved a lot since I last saw you. I'm really impressed!"

* * *

"I've got a better idea," said Dawn with a warm smile. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ash thought deeply for a moment before smiling himself. "Yep, I'm thinking what you're thinking alright!"

Both trainers raised one arm into the air and then they high-fived each other.

* * *

**And now let the sixth chapter begin!**

* * *

"All right Ash you won!" said Anna happily as she approached Ash.

"I'll admit you battled quite ok out there!" remarked Iris as she approached with the rest following behind her.

"Quite ok? I'm pretty sure I did good, not ok," said Ash. It was what he thought.

"You did ok and that's that!" snapped Iris. She was annoyed and it showed on her face. You see, Iris sometimes overreacted from even the smallest things such as this and Ash and Cilan found it a bit...absurd.

"Calm down Iris. Whether or not Ash did good is only opinion based," said Cilan.

She turned her head around. Cilan knew what was about to come and gulped. "Be quiet Cilan!" growled Iris with extreme fury. Her face looked as ferocious as a savage dog's.

Cilan was scared. In fact he was so scared, it felt like he pooped his pants...even though he didn't.

Iris' angry facial expression slowly reverted back to her normal calm expression. She was calming down from her sudden anger.

The next few moments, which felt like a few minutes, were spent in silence. Not even breathing was heard because no one dared to breath audibly. During this quiet time, Ash formed a question in his head. _Where's Jay? _he was thinking. He had skimmed through his group of friends about three times already and has not seen Jay anywhere. Ash broke the silence with the question.

"Where's Jay you guys?" asked Ash curiously. He wanted to know where Jay was, especially since he was the next one to battle. "I don't see him around."

"Well you see..." was how Rose replied. She and Anna stepped out of the way and revealed to Ash the glass entrance to the building. He spotted Jay through the glass outside, bouncing up and down like a pogo stick, trying to grab apples from a tree.

"He's been doing that for a while now," explained Anna. "And he claimed that he wouldn't stop until he got an apple off that tree."

"Jay succeeded before, but the apple ended up being crushed by a shoe," added Rose.

Ash immediately burst into laughter. "What rotten luck!" he said in between his laughs. The explanation Ash was just given sounded really funny to him, especially the last bit.

Ash's laugh was soon interrupted by an announcement from a nearby speaker.

"Attention! May the next representatives for team Pokestars and Lily Angels please go to the battle arena now!" notified the PA system.

"Wait, isn't the next person-" Rose was cut off by Ash. "Yes, Jay's the next person!" replied Ash without letting Rose finish. "Come on guys, we need to tell Jay!"

He ran off outside the cafeteria they were in.

Ash went up to Jay and tapped in on the shoulder. Without looking back Jay said irritably, "Can you stop mocking me Iris! Just because you can climb trees-" Jay was cut off by Ash.

"Jay it's not Iris, it's me, Ash." Jay turned his whole body around and came face to face with Ash. "Oh, it's you Ash," he spoke. "What do you want? I'm busy trying to get an apple off the tree."

"Look Jay, your battle is now and you need to get to the battle arena quickly!" said Ash sternly.

"Oh, ok...thanks for telling me Ash. I'll be on my way now!" verbalized Jay extremely quickly. He then ran off through the cafeteria entrance and disappeared from sight in a flash. Ash was left behind under the apple tree in deep thought. _I wonder...who will Jay battle against..._

**Start of Flashback**

"So Dawn, who are the other members of your team?" asked Ash curiously.

Dawn just giggled sweetly and gave him an amiable wink. "You'll see..." was her spoken reply.

**End of Flashback**

* * *

"And battle number two against team Pokestars and team Lily Angels will now begin!" announced Chili. "But before the battle gets underway, the competitors need to be introduced!"

The crowd cheered super loudly, comparable to the sound of two atomic bombs exploding in unison. The cheers and shouts of applause eventually died down, the stadium becoming silent again. Chili took this time to continue speaking.

"Alright, on the right hand side of me, we have the competitor from team Pokestars! He's a boy from this city, so you guys might know him." The red haired man paused for a bit before saying more. "Now everyone, give it up for Jay from right here in Striaton City!"

The crowd cheered at the top of their lungs as Jay made his entrance. He was waving and blowing kisses at the crowd as if he was a famous singer or something.

"What a showoff..." spoke Iris. "Who in the world does an entrance like he does?"

"Er...famous people..." answered Ash. "They enter a venue like that..."

"Ash, I meant someone other than famous people!" said Iris in an almost yelling tone. Her face was showing a lot of fierceness, almost as fierce as a legendary pokemon such as Groudon.

This silenced Ash for a little but as soon as she turned her head away, "Geez Iris, you never said so..." Ash muttered whilst giving her a sideward glare.

* * *

"And now let me introduce you to the Lily Angels representative! Give it up for May who came all the way from Petalburg City!" announced the red haired gym leader.

The crowd cheered wildly as the girl stepped into the arena, waving to the crowd whilst making her way to her position on the battlefield.

* * *

"What, it's May?!" Ash said in total surprise. _Am I dreaming or is this real? _he thought. Ash just sat there, deep in the thought. He then removed himself from his thoughts and gave a small laugh._ It'll be quite funny if I found Misty was on their team as well!_

"Ash, you know that girl?" asked Iris.

The question Iris asked was kind of sudden to him and gave him a little scare. He almost fell off the seat but grabbed onto the edge of the table to prevent that outcome. "Um...yeah!" he replied hastily. "I know her."

"And just how do you know her?" asked Iris with a raised eyebrow. "Is she your..."

"Yes...?" said Ash urging Iris to finish. "...girlfriend?" finished Iris.

"Girlfriend? Of course she is my girlfriend! She's a girl and she's my friend!" replied Ash.

Iris felt like facepalming herself. How could Ash be so stupid? "No, no Ash! Not in that way! I meant it the other way! Are you and that girl more than just friends?"

Ash paused for a moment before saying something. "Well actually...we were more than just friends..." said Ash with a wondering off voice. He was staring blankly at the ceiling for a few moments before bringing his head back down and speaking again. "We were good friends!"

Iris just facepalmed herself. The reason: Ash's asininity. _I wonder if he'll ever understand these kinds of things. The only time Ash will probably come to know these things is when the world is about to end!_

* * *

Jay was just staring entrancingly at the girl who emerged into the stadium. The girl had long smooth-looking brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. She wore a green bandana on her head, a sort of orange and white waistcoat and also black and white gloves as well as black shorts. Jay thought the girl was really pretty overall.

It took a bit of time but he eventually snapped out of his hypnotic state. Also at that moment, Chili spoke. "Now before the battle gets officially underway, let me just say something first!" The voices from the crowd died down to listen to Chili talk. "As you all know, this is the second battle between team Pokestars and team Lily Angels! If May ends up winning the match, each team will send in their last trainer to fight in the final round! On the other hand if Jay wins, team Pokestars will be moving on to the next round!"

Jay couldn't help but smile when he heard this. _I won't be pressured to win this one at least!_

"I will be handing over to the referee now!" Chili spoke into his mic.

The ref started off with, "May both sides please send in a pokemon each."

"Alright!" spoke Jay and May at the same time with a nod.

"Ladies first!" said Jay with a gentlemanly bow.

"Why thanks!" said May. She grabbed out a pokeball and expanded it. "Now, come on out Glaceon!" She threw in the pokeball. The red and white sphere split, releasing shining light that materialized into the fresh snow pokemon.

Jay grinned. "Your Glaceon looks really strong!" he complimented. "I can't wait to get battling against it!"

"You really think so? I'm flattered!" said May.

Jay got out one of his pokeballs and enlarged it. "Now, how about an eeveelution battle? I'm sure it'll be something spectacular!"

"An eeveelution battle?" asked May confusedly. "What's that?"

"I'll just let this guy explain," said Jay as he threw in his pokeball. The orb split and out came a bright white light that materialized into a black fox-like pokemon with red eyes and yellow rings and lines here and there.

* * *

"An Umbreon? Wow! Jay has some really awesome pokemon!" shouted Ash very loudly.

"Shush and just watch!" snapped Anna madly.

* * *

"Oh...I get what you mean by an eeveelution battle now..." said May. She finally understood what Jay meant.

The referee then announced, "Ok! This will be a three on three battle with substitutions aloud. The winner will be decided when all three pokemon on either side faints."

The two competitors eyed each other with loads of confidence.

"I wish you good luck!" said Jay.

"Good luck to you too!" said May.

The stadium stayed dead silent, all watchers eyeing the battlefield in anticipation for a few moments before the referee announced, "Now, let the battle begin!"

"Glaceon, use Shadow Ball!" May ordered swiftly.

"You too Umbreon!" said Jay immediately after.

The two pokemon opened their mouths and formed a purple ball of darkness in front of it. They then launched the attacks at the same time.

The two Shadow Balls met at the center of the battlefield and both exploded there. Soon, the middle of the battlefield was already out of sight due to the thick smoke that formed from the explosion.

The smoke finally cleared off after a while. The two battling pokemon could see each other again and were giving each other fierce looks.

"They seem about equal in strength!" spoke May.

"Maybe, but it was a single attack! It'll take more for a better comparison between the two!" said Jay with a smirk.

"You're certainly right there!" said May with a similar smirk.

* * *

"This battle looks like it's going to be a good one!" said Rose excitedly.

"I guess so..." spoke Iris coolly.

"You don't sound very interested in the battle Iris," said Ash. "What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong."

"Are you-"

"Yes I'm sure!" replied Iris quickly before Ash even had a chance to finish his question.

* * *

"Glaceon, use Iron Tail!" instructed May.

The fresh snow pokemon transformed its tail into steel. It then jumped into the air, performed a couple of front flips and then descended towards Umbreon with its tail positioned for a downward strike.

"Umbreon, dodged it quickly!" ordered Jay. The moonlight pokemon hopped to the side, avoiding the opponent's Iron Tail attack.

The steel type attack made contact with the ground. The impact was so powerful, it created a circular wave of mighty air that went off into all directions. The airwave blasted Umbreon onto the ground a few metres back.

"Ha! Gotchya!" cried out May.

Umbreon got itself off the ground and back onto its four feet. "Umbreon!" it cried. The moonlight pokemon was still able to battle. It was only blown back a little after all. Nothing too harsh.

"Great Umbreon! Now it's our turn to land a hit! Use Dark Pulse!" commanded Jay.

His dark type pokemon opened its mouth wide and released dark purple blast of rings right towards its opponent.

"Glaceon, dodge it!" told May.

The ice type leapt high into the air and evaded the dark type attack. "Now use Ice Shard!"

Glaceon opened its mouth and shot out heaps of ice shards towards its opponent.

"Umbreon, use Faint Attack!" ordered Jay.

The moonlight pokemon became invisible.

Glaceon immediately halted its attack and began looking around for it. May was doing the same.

"Glaceon, look out for Umbreon. It could appear anywhere," said May. "Glaceon!" it nodded.

Suddenly, Umbreon reappeared on the left side of Glaceon and swiftly rammed onto it.

Glaceon was blown away towards the left by the attack.

"Oh no Glaceon!" shouted May.

"Oh yeah Umbreon!" said Jay. "Umbreon!" The pokemon landed on all fours back in front of its trainer. It was waiting loyally for its next order.

"Glaceon, get back up!" spoke May. Glaceon struggled but it eventually got back up on all fours. "Glaceon!" it cried.

"Great! You're back up again! Now how about using Shadow Ball!"

The fresh snow pokemon opened its mouth and formed a purple ball of darkness in front of it. The pokemon then twisted its head around and fired the orb forcefully towards its opponent.

"Umbreon, counter it with Dark Pulse!" ordered Jay.

The moonlight pokemon opened its mouth and shot out a beam of dark rings.

The Dark Pulse attack met with the Shadow Ball attack in the center of the battlefield. The two attacks immediately went into a deadlock, both failing to overpower the other. Soon, the build up of power from the attacks colliding just became too much and an explosion took place, creating cloudy smoke that you just couldn't see through.

The spectators were just silently gazing.

Suddenly, coming out from the cloud of smoke and headed towards Glaceon, was a beam of dark rings.

This surprised Glaceon as well as May.

"Q-quick Glaceon, dodge it!" spoke May, panicking.

Glaceon never ended up attempting a dodge because the attack hit it before it ever snapped out of its surprised state.

"Glaceon no!" cried May. She was looking sadly at her ice type pokemon, lying limply on the ground.

"All right Umbreon, let's finish this with Shadow Ball!" ordered Jay.

"Umbreon!" it nodded its head. The moonlight pokemon then opened its mouth and created an orb of darkness in front of it. It then fired the orb directly at Glaceon.

The attack hit and blasted Glaceon into the air. The fresh snow pokemon descended back towards the ground and collided with it very brutally.

"Oh no Glaceon!" shouted May with worry.

She saw her pokemon on the ground, lying limp with swirls for eyes.

"Glaceon is unable to battle! This means that Umbreon wins!" announced the ref.

* * *

"Jay did quite well beating Glaceon," said Ash.

"Yeah! You got to say, Jay did good!" remarked Iris. She had an evil grin spread across her face. She knew what was to come next.

"Hey, you said Jay did good! All you ever say to me is that I did ok!" said Ash as he narrowed his eyes and glared at Iris. He thought this was a complete outrage.

"Well Jay is better than you!" shot back Iris. "Remember, you guys even battled and he took down your Oshawott easily!"

Ash sighed. He hated to admit that Iris was actually right. Jay did beat him. Fair and square. "Whatever..." He turned back to the broadcast of the battle.

* * *

"Return Glaceon!" A red light came out of the pokeball and consumed Glaceon back into it. "You did really well."

She then looked up directly at Jay eye to eye. "You're a really good battler I have to admit!"

"Haha! You're not so bad yourself!" spoke Jay with a cheerful smile.

May got out another pokeball, replacing her Glaceon's. She giggled cutely a little before speaking, "Now, are you ready for my second pokemon?"

"Yep! I'm ready for it! Bring it on!" gestured Jay.

"Alright then, come out Beautifly!" She threw in the pokemon and out came the butterfly pokemon.

"Hm...did you choose that pokemon based on type effectiveness?" asked Jay.

"Well...kinda..." spoke May whilst rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I actually didn't realize that until you mentioned it."

Jay sweatdropped. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"Well I am a coordinator, not just a plain pokemon trainer..." May then stood up straight again. "Anyways...we're in a battle right now! Do you want to kick start the battle?"

"With pleasure!" smiled Jay. "Now Umbreon, let's use Dark Pulse!"

The moonlight pokemon opened its mouth and released a beam of dark rings at the direction of its opponent.

"Beautifly, dodge it!" commanded May.

The bug and flying type flew away to dodge the dark type attack. "Now use Silver Wind!" Beautifly began flapping both its wings, creating two separate streams of wind aimed at its opponent.

"Umbreon, dodge!" But Umbreon was never given the chance. The wind struck and Umbreon had no other choice but to try and stand its ground against it.

"More powerfully Beautifly!" told May. The butterfly pokemon flapped its wings even faster, creating two even more powerful streams of wind.

The winds got even harder to stand up to for Umbreon, due to the increased velocity of it. "Umbreon, hang in there!" shouted Jay. Umbreon was trying its hardest to hang in there, since the winds were as powerful as a cyclone's. Umbreon was slowly but surely being pushed back by the winds.

_Argh! What do I do...wait a minute...that's it! _"Umbreon, use Endure!" ordered Jay. The moonlight pokemon lifted a foot up and then brang it down again, planting it firmly onto the ground and also tensing its whole body. Umbreon instantly stopped being forced back by the wind, firmly staying put on one spot. It now appeared as if the winds were nothing to Umbreon because it didn't even look like it was struggling to resist.

* * *

"What?! I've never heard of Endure being used like that!" said Iris with surprise.

"Me neither! And its pretty clever too!" remarked Rose.

A muffled voice then spoke up, which no one comprehended. Everyone with the exception of Anna turned around to the source of the voice. It was Ash, speaking with his mouth full again.

"What did you just say Ash?" asked Rose.

Ash then spoke again, and once again, not comprehensible.

"Can you just stop talking with your mouth full Ash! You're making me sick!" snapped Anna. The truth was that she was actually about to vomit. "Just go back to watching the battle already!"

* * *

"Now Beautifly, faster!" ordered May.

The butterfly pokemon flapped its wings even faster, creating even speedier winds. Umbreon was still standing on its spot sturdily, despite the accelerated winds.

Beautifly kept flapping wind until it just simply became too tired. The bug and flying type dropped and crashed roughly onto the earth.

Jay glanced at the butterfly pokemon's eyes and saw that they weren't swirls yet. He knew that the pokemon still hasn't fainted yet. He planned to change that very soon though.

"This is our chance for striking back Umbreon!" said Jay.

"Umbreon!" it nodded.

"Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!"

The dark type opened its mouth and formed an orb of darkness in front of it. The pokemon then fired the ball of darkness straight towards Beautifly.

"Beautifly, get up and dodge it!" spoke May. "You have to get up!"

Despite its trainer's pleas, Beautifly couldn't muster up the strength to get back into action and therefore, was hit by the Shadow Ball attack.

Jay glanced at the Beautifly's eyes again and they still weren't swirls. _Are you serious? That move should've finished it! Oh well...the next move will finish it then _thought Jay.

He then looked down at his Umbreon. "Let's finish this Umbreon!"

"Umbreon!" the moonlight pokemon cried.

"Alright, use Dark Pulse!"

The dark type pokemon opened its mouth and released a stream of dark energy rings at its opponent.

The butterfly pokemon took the full force of the attack before fainting, with its body lying in a heap on the ground and its eyes substituted for swirls.

"Beautifly is unable to battle! The winner is Umbreon!" announced the referee.

* * *

"That was so easy for Jay. Almost like it was nothing," spoke Rose.

"Hm...I sense that May will send her premium brand pokemon in now," said Cilan.

"Not with that again..."

* * *

"Return!" The pokeball released a red light that dematerialized Beautifly so it could go back into the pokeball. "You did well."

She then looked up directly at Jay's face. "You did an awesome job taking down my Beautifly! I congratulate you!"

"Ha! You gave me a great challenge! I had to actually think to win that one!" said Jay. Honestly, Jay thought that the battle just before was too easy and hardly provided a challenge at all. _I just hope the next pokemon is stronger._

May replaced Beautifly's pokeball with a different one. "Now, are you ready for my last and strongest pokemon?" she questioned Jay.

"Ha! Of course!" replied Jay with a smirk.

"Alright then, come out Blaziken!" The pokeball was thrown in and split upon contact with the ground, releasing bright light that materialized into the blaze pokemon.

"A pretty strong looking Blaziken I see..." spoke Jay.

"It's very strong!" said May arrogantly.

"Blaziken!" it cried with its arms crossed.

"Anyways, who'll be going first?" asked Jay.

"Ladies first this time!" answered May. "Blaziken, start off with Fire Spin!"

The blaze pokemon opened its mouth and fired a spiraling stream of hot fire towards its opponent.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" ordered Jay.

The moonlight pokemon disappeared from everyone's view.

May and her Blaziken began searching frantically around the battlefield.

"Keep a sharp eye out Blaziken!" told May. They continued to search.

"Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" instructed Jay.

Umbreon reappeared a few metres to the right of Blaziken. It opened its mouth, formed a ball of darkness, and then launched it at Blaziken's direction.

Blaziken spotted the incoming attack and leapt backwards to dodge.

"Great job Blaziken! Now, use Sky Uppercut!"

The fire and fighting type ran at its opponent with its fist glowing white.

"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" ordered Jay.

The moonlight pokemon turned invisible. Blaziken abruptly stopped its attack and began looking around frantically once again.

"Dark Pulse Umbreon!"

The dark type reappeared about ten metres to the left of Blaziken and fired out a beam of dark rings towards it.

Blaziken looked to the left and saw the attack coming its way.

"Dodge it Blaziken!" commanded May.

Blaziken didn't follow May's instruction though. It didn't even try. The blaze pokemon decided it was a bit late to dodge so instead, it utilized an arm to block the attack.

"Blaziken can seriously just stand there and block the attack?!" said Jay flabbergasted. "Is it really that strong?"

"Yes, it's really that strong," spoke May. "Although I never knew that until just then...anyways..." She went back into her battle mode.

"Blaziken, use Overheat!"

The blaze pokemon turned and bit red. It opened its mouth and released a huge stream of fire towards Umbreon.

"Umbreon, use Endure!" told Jay.

The dark type lifted one foot off the ground and then stomped it back down, planting all its feet firmly onto the ground and tensing its body too.

The fire type attack struck Umbreon, but barely inflicted any sort of damage on it. Jay smiled at this.

"Now Umbreon, Shadow Ball!"

The moonlight pokemon formed a ball of darkness in front of its mouth and fired it at its opponent.

Blaziken was hit on the stomach by the attack and was sent sliding on its feet backwards. It stopped itself from skidding any further just before it collided onto its trainer.

"Blaziken!" it cried out loud.

May sighed with relief._ I thought Blaziken was going to crash onto me...I'm glad it didn't._

"Alright Blaziken, time for striking back! Use Blaze Kick!" Fiery flames formed on the bottom of the blaze pokemon's legs.

"Dodge Umbreon!"

The fire and fighting type lashed out a kick on Umbreon but it dodged the attack by ducking down.

"Now Umbreon, Dark Pulse!" commanded Jay.

Umbreon opened its mouth and unleashed a dark beam of purplish rings at its opponent.

Blaziken was really close to Umbreon so it received the full force of the attack.

The blaze pokemon landed back onto the ground violently.

"No Blaziken!" shouted May.

The fire and fighting type was slow but it eventually got back up.

"Blaziken!" it cried.

"Alright! Blaziken's back up!" said May happily. "Now let's get them back!"

"Return!" A red light released from Jay's pokeball came in and collected Umbreon. The red light then rushed back into the red and white sphere.

"Huh? What are you doing?" asked May.

"I'm going to finish this!" replied Jay with a smirk. "That's what I'm doing."

He then replaced the current pokeball with another. "This pokemon will finish the job!" Jay enlarged the red and white sphere in his hands.

"Xatu, let's do this thing!" He threw in the pokeball, which split and released white light midair, which materialized into a green bird-like pokemon with various patterns on its body here and there.

* * *

"A Xatu? Man, Jay's pokemon are awesome!" said Ash as he got out of his seat and started to jump up and down like a young excited child.

"Ash, you've already said that before..." said Iris.

"But his pokemon are awesome!"

"So what? Doesn't mean that you keep saying that!" barked Iris.

"Be quiet people! Just watch the battle silently already!" snapped Anna.

* * *

"You chose this pokemon based on type effectiveness, correct?" asked May.

"Correct!" nodded Jay. _I've won this battle for sure now..._

"Alright. I see you're using your brain!"

"Yep! That is also correct!"

May giggled a little. "Ok, now back to the battle. Do you want to go first?"

"Sure!" responded Jay. "Xatu, use Zen Headbutt!"

The mystic pokemon had the top of its head turn light blue. It then began flying headfirst towards Blaziken.

"Blaziken, dodge it!" The blaze pokemon bounced up into the air, avoiding the attack with ease. "Now Overheat!"

Blaziken turned a bit red before breathing out a stream of hot fire straight towards its opponent.

"Dodge it Xatu, then use Psychic!" ordered Jay.

The psychic and flying type gusted itself back to avoid the fire type attack. It then faced upwards and then released a light blue wave of psychic power from its eyes, straight at the airborne Blaziken.

The fire and fighting type took the attack and was sent ascending higher into the air before coming back down and crashing onto the earth viciously. It was lying down face up flat on the ground, not fainted yet. Jay was hoping to change that though.

"This battle will be over! I'm going to finish this!" said Jay. He was confident about what he just said. "Xatu, use Hyper Beam!"

The mystic pokemon opened its mouth and an orange orb appeared in front of it. An orange beam was then launched from the orb directly towards Blaziken.

"Blaziken, get up and dodge it! You must!" pleaded May. Blaziken with all its power, tried to get up and dodge, but it was just too weak. The powerful orange beam struck Blaziken and created an explosion also.

Thick, cloudy smoke were flying around all over the arena, blocking the views of everyone.

The smoke soon cleared off and the result: Xatu has won. Blaziken was lying down limp on the ground face up, eyes replaced for swirls.

The crowd was just silently staring at the fainted pokemon.

"Blaziken is unable to battle! The winner of the battle is Jay!" announced the referee.

The crowd went wild.

* * *

"Alright! We've made it to the next round!" spoke Ash happily. The smile on his face was huge, breaking any world record for the biggest smile in history.

"Pika!" cried Pikachu joyfully as it raised a paw into the air. It was just as happy as its trainer.

"I see! It's quite good that we get to move on!" said Cilan as he adjusted his green bow.

* * *

"Return Blaziken!" The blaze pokemon was absorbed back into the pokeball by a red light. "You did just amazing out there." May was slightly disappointed about the loss, but was happy for the other team that they made it through.

She put away her pokeball, then looked up and saw Jay standing in the center of the battlefield. The brown haired girl decided to approach him.

Jay had just placed his pokeball back onto his belt and looked up to see his opponent standing there right in front of him.

"That was a good match! I thank you for it!" She then held her hands out for Jay to shake. Jay did just that, although after saying, "Yeah! I agree! A really good match!" They then broke the handshake.

May decided to ask him a question. "Your name is Jay right?" she asked.

"Um...yeah," replied Jay. "And your May correct?"

"Yeah, that's my name!" the brown haired girl replied with a sweet smile. "It's nice to officially meet you!"

"Likewise!" said Jay returning his own smile. They both shook hands once more.

* * *

**I hope this was at least a little good...**

**Reviews are welcome too :)**


	7. The Sable Man!

**I've finished another chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

"What, it's May?!" Ash said in total surprise. _Am I dreaming or is this real? _he thought. Ash just sat there, deep in the thought. He then removed himself from his thoughts and gave a small laugh._ It'll be quite funny if I found Misty was on their team as well!_

"Ash, you know that girl?" asked Iris.

The question Iris asked was kind of sudden to him and gave him a little scare. He almost fell off the seat but grabbed onto the edge of the table to prevent that outcome. "Um...yeah!" he replied hastily. "I know her."

* * *

The smoke soon cleared off and the result: Xatu has won. Blaziken was lying down limp on the ground face up, eyes replaced for swirls.

The crowd was just silently staring at the fainted pokemon.

"Blaziken is unable to battle! The winner of the battle is Jay!" announced the referee.

The crowd went wild.

* * *

"That was a good match! I thank you for it!" She then held her hands out for Jay to shake. Jay did just that, although after saying, "Yeah! I agree! A really good match!" They then broke the handshake.

May decided to ask him a question. "Your name is Jay right?" she asked.

"Um...yeah," replied Jay. "And your May correct?"

"Yeah, that's my name!" the brown haired girl replied with a sweet smile. "It's nice to officially meet you!"

"Likewise!" said Jay returning his own smile. They both shook hands once more.

* * *

**And now let the seventh chapter begin!**

* * *

"You battled really awesomely Jay!" cried out Rose as she skipped over to the aforementioned. "I've seen you battle a lot but this time you have impressed me!"

"I agree with her Jay! You were just awesome! You didn't even let any of your pokemon faint!" spoke Ash. He was also pretty impressed.

"You were really awesome! Even better than someone in particular..." Iris narrowed her eyes evilly and looked at Ash, also with a nefarious smile plastered on her face.

Ash took notice of this. "Hey! I did pretty well in my battle too!"

"Yeah, but not as good as Jay!" said Iris in a mocking tone and with a smile that matched it.

Ash was about to say something in return but was never given the chance. A brown haired girl suddenly strolled into the cafeteria and approached the group. "Hi everyone!" she waved merrily.

"Huh? May?" said Ash. He was gazing intently at the girl. "Is that really you?"

"Hi May!" waved Jay happily at the brown haired girl.

"So you must be May right?" asked Iris. "Ash's...girlfriend."

"That's me!" chirped May cheerfully. "Although I'm not Ash's girlfriend. We're just really good friends!"

_That's what she claims..._thought Iris darkly.

Just then, three more people came and joined them. One of them being Dawn and the other two being unknown people. One of them was a female and the other a male.

"Misty? Is that you?" asked Jay to the unknown girl. He was observing her carefully, as if studying her like a newly discovered relic.

The female replied. "Haha! So after all these years, I see you again Jay!" The girl then turned to Ash. "And I see you've met a good friend of mine too!"

"Wait, you know Ash?" asked Jay.

"Yep! I met him at the start of his pokemon journey! I remember it like it was last week..."

"Hi Ash! I'm glad to see you again after so long!" waved the male.

"I'm glad to see you too Max!" Ash went over and patted him on the head like a father would to his son.

"Ash? You know all these guys?" asked Jay surprisingly.

"Yeah! I have been on many journeys after all! It only makes sense I know many people!" replied Ash.

The raven-haired boy turned to the blue haired girl. "And Dawn, nice to see you again too!" He flashed her a pleasant smile. Dawn's cheeks went deep red as she look down to try and hide this. Weirdly, everyone didn't notice this shy behavior of Dawn's. Everyone with the exception of Jay. _Very interesting..._was his thought when witnessing this.

"Now where were you guys headed for?" asked Ash.

"Hm...where were we headed guys?" asked May. "I've stupidly forgotten."

"Us four were just heading over to the restaurant in the city's pokemon gym for lunch," answered Misty. "It's already three o'clock you know! We're starving!"

"Hey I know!" said Max as if he had just formed the best idea in history. This was very sudden. In fact, so sudden that it scared Misty and made her leap back. "Why'd you scare me like that?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean too," apologized Max. "Anyways, back to what I was about to say. What about if we invite Ash and the others to have lunch with us? That'd be cool wouldn't it?"

In Ash's opinion, that was the best idea in history. He was still starving after eating some snacks before and wanted more to eat. Way more.

"Why not? That sounds like a perfect idea!" said May smiling.

Ash's stomach abruptly rumbled. Very loudly too. "Maybe we should get going now..." he spoke. "I'm really starving!"

"He's right! We'll need to go before his stomach rumbles become the cause of earthquakes!" laughed Max.

"Alright then, I'll race you guys there!" said Jay quickly. He began speeding off thrice as fast as a cheetah and disappeared from view in less than three seconds.

"Hey, wait up!" called out Ash. Ash ran off after him, not as fast though.

Dawn and Iris faced each other with grins on their faces. "What kids!" they spoke in unison.

Misty watched them in confusion. "What did you two say?"

"No...not this again..." said Cilan shaking his head, while also letting his whole body go limp.

"Come on guys, let's go after them!" said Anna. "Quickly!" She was about to break off into a sprint herself. That was until she saw the look on Rose's face.

"Don't you think we should just walk?" asked Rose.

Anna sighed. Rose always wanted to walk...as well as everyone else they happened to be with. "Very well then..." replied Anna.

* * *

"I wonder what Cilan is making for us? Whatever it is, I can't wait!" said May with excitement.

"Cilan is such a great cook!" said Dawn. "He's even comparable to Brock!"

"Seriously? That's awesome!" said May cheerfully. The brown haired girl then turned to Jay. "So Jay, tell me how you met Ash?"

"Huh?" Jay never expected such a question at a time like this. "How I met Ash...? Well..." He began whilst rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It was about one week ago when I met Ash. The meeting was honestly by accident."

**Start of Flashback**

"Come on! You guys are making this too easy!"

Jay then looked back and saw that his friends weren't behind him. He couldn't even see where they were.

"Look out!" yelled out a voice.

Jay turned his head forwards again and saw a boy a few yards in front of him. He was running straight at him.

"AHHHHHHH!"

The two collided with each other and fell down harshly onto the ground.

Jay got back up to his feet.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

Jay offered his helping hand to the raven-haired boy he bumped into a few seconds ago.

The boy grabbed his hand and was helped up.

"Its ok. I'm fine," said the boy as he dusted himself with his hands. "No need to apologize."

"You should be more careful next time!" a purple haired girl yelled at Jay. "You could've hurt my friend here!"

"It's fine Iris," spoke the raven-haired boy. "A small bump like that couldn't have possibly injured me in any way."

"Says the kid who knows nothing."

"Hey, I thought you said you'd stop with that!"

"Well I lied!"

"But you said you would stop calling me a kid!"

So the two engaged in a fierce argument.

Jay sweatdropped. "This something you don't see everyday..."

In the midst of the argument, the boy took notice of Jay. He was just standing there watching them fight.

"Are you even listening to me?" asked a frustrated Iris.

Her friend totally ignored what she said and pivoted his body around so he was facing Jay.

"I'm sorry you have to see me and my friend here argue," said the boy. "And for that, I'll introduce myself to you. I'm Ash and this is my buddy Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!" cried a yellow pokemon as it leapt on top of his head.

"Nice to officially meet you! My name's Jay!"

He then held out his hand. Ash got out his own hands and shook them with Jay's.

**End of Flashback**

"And that's how we met!" finished Jay.

"Cool!" said May. "A bit odd...but cool!"

"Lunch...or late lunch in this case, is ready now!" called out a voice. They all turned to the source that emitted the voice and were happy when they saw it was Cilan.

The green haired man was coming over to the table, pushing a food trolley filled with almost a dozen white bowls and a huge silver pot.

Cilan stopped the trolley when he arrived beside the table. The green haired man then grabbed a bowl and filled it almost up to the top with orange soup from the huge pot. He then placed the bowl down in front of Ash. "Lunch is served Ash! Bon Appétit!"

"Alright!" said Ash as he pumped his fist into the air. "Now I can finally eat!"

Everyone sweatdropped as he began slurping his soup noisily.

Everyone on the table had their bowl of soup in front of them, ready to consume it. Everyone on the table other than Ash that is. His bowl was as empty as the blue skies without any clouds.

"Bon Appétit!" addressed Cilan.

"Bon Appétit!" said everyone else in the table other than Ash.

They all began attacking their soup filled bowls with no mercy.

* * *

During the meal, Jay suddenly felt the need to go to the toilet. "I need to go to the bathroom!" he announced. The ebony haired boy got up from his seat. "I'll be right back!"

"Ok, but be quick! You wouldn't want your soup to go cold!" said Cilan. Jay responded to that with a nod and then bolted off to the toilets, which were located at the back of the building.

When there, he did his business and washed his hands before coming out of the toilets. At the same time, a man in black dashed hurriedly past him into the toilets. Jay just shrugged it off. He was just about to take a step when he heard a voice.

"Hey kid!" called out a voice from behind. Jay spun around and spotted a man running up to him. The man seemed about forty years old, judging by the light wrinkles on his face and the amount of hair he had left on the top of his head.

"Kid! Did you happen to see the pokemon thief when you came out?" asked the man once he arrived right in front of Jay. The man seemed like he was hurrying for a reason. Maybe it has something to do with the thief. Jay didn't know who the man was referring to by thief so he decided to ask him.

"What pokemon thief?" asked Jay. "I don't know what you're talking about. Can you give a description of him? Like maybe...what clothes he had on?"

"Well...he was wearing all black..." replied the man thoughtfully.

Jay engaged in his own thoughts for a moment before replying. "No...I don't think I've seen a man that fits into your description..."

"Alright...thanks kid..." The man went around Jay before dart off down the direction behind him.

Jay pivoted around. "Anytime!" he shouted as he watched the man run off. _Now, back to my awaiting soup..._thought Jay. He turned around and began walking. He had already taken about a dozen steps down the hallway when something dawned on him. _Wait a minute...I did see the pokemon thief..._ Jay recalled the few fast moments the man in black ran quickly into the toilets just after he came out.

He turned back to look for the man he just talked to about half a minute ago, but saw that he wasn't anywhere in view anymore. It was just a long hall of emptiness in front of him. _Hm...I guess I'll just do this alone then..._

Jay retraced his steps and opened the toilet doors, peeking inside. He turned his head slowly, from right to left, and saw no one. Jay then decided to go inside and check every cubicle. So then he did. He accomplished this task in less than ten seconds, without finding the man in black. _Where could that guy have run off to? _He was thinking whilst tapping his feet softly. Jay randomly turned his head up and spotted a window. It was wide open with a very gentle draft blowing through. _I see what he used as the escape route..._thought Jay, smiling to himself and nodding his head lightly.

* * *

"Argh! Man, this is so small! How'd that thief end up fitting through this darn window?!" spoke Jay. He has never felt so incapable before. Jay was squirming tirelessly like a worm, trying to get through the slim opening he was stuck in and already halfway through. He wasn't budging an inch though. "Holy Arceus this is so small...I think I'll be stuck here for a while!"

* * *

Ash has already downed three bowls of soup and was up to his fourth one, drinking it up as fast as a really thirsty person drinking water. Probably even faster than that. Drinking as fast as a robot specialized for drinking water fast was more like it...even though they don't exist and probably never will. Meanwhile, the others on the table were still going with their first bowl, eating up in a more mannered way.

"Ash, don't you want to slow down a bit? You might end up choking," warned Cilan.

"Nonsense Cilan! I do this all the time and I haven't choked yet!" said Ash. "And besides, I've never heard of anyone choking on soup! That's got to be the most dumbest thing ever!"

_Um...you're the dumbest thing ever..._thought Iris.

"Um...do you guys know why Jay could be taking so long? He hasn't returned yet and his soup is getting cold," said May. Everyone on the table stopped consuming their soups for a second and glanced at Jay's spot. She was right. Jay has not come back yet and his soup was getting cold, evident by the amount of hot smoke emanating from the bowl.

"Well knowing him, he's probably gotten himself into some sort of mess by now. Don't worry though, he'll return! I'm positive!" replied Rose.

"I sure hope your right..." May couldn't help but worry.

* * *

Jay, after a little while of wriggling, finally ended up making it out from the window and plumped straight down onto the outside ground.

"Whoa...a bit of a rough landing there..." Jay got up and dusted himself lightly.

"Now...where in the world am I..." He quickly took a look around at his surroundings, taking it all in. Piecing it all together, he realized where he was.

"So...I'm at an alleyway..." _Now for the thief..._

Jay began gazing around the place, searching for the man in black he saw before. After about half a minute of looking around the place, he still didn't spot the thief yet.

"Where could this thief be..." mused Jay. He was bugged by the fact that the man in black could be anywhere by now. He could be flying off somewhere on a flying type pokemon. Jay wouldn't know.

Suddenly...

"I'm right here," spoke a cold voice from behind. This greatly startled Jay and caused him to jump forwards.

The ebony haired boy then pivoted around and came face to face with the man in black he saw not too long before. The man wore a long pitch-black cape with a hood that reached almost to his ankles, which concealed just about his whole body. The only thing that Jay could register of the thief was that he was fairly tall, as well as the barely uncovered smile that was on his face. He had a...sort of dark atmosphere around him. Jay could sense it.

"Who are you?" asked Jay sternly and in a demanding way. "And why are you stealing pokemon?"

The man took a step closer. Jay took a step back. "Who am I you may ask? I'm Sable, that's my name. And why am I stealing pokemon? That's something I cannot answer. Not now at least. All I can say that it is for a good cause," said the man.

"A good cause?" It was the most ridiculous thing Jay has ever heard. Stealing pokemon for a good cause? Yeah right! "That is so unbelievable! No good cause ever involves stealing pokemon from others! That's what evil causes do!"

The man in black took another step forwards. Jay took another step back. "Young boy, I can assure you that this stealing is actually for a very good cause. No need to get so mad." He gave Jay a grin, a wicked one rather than a good one.

"Grrr! Stealing is not right, even if it is for a good cause like you say it is!" Jay was flared up with anger. Loads of anger. Stealing was something Jay really couldn't stand, no matter what it was for. It was just so wrong. "Give that stolen pokemon back now!"

"Ha! You can take it back...after you beat me in a one on one pokemon battle!"

"Are you serious? You might as well just skip the battle and give me the pokemon because there no way on Earth I'd ever end up losing to a lowlife like you!"

Sable gave a smirk. "Oh really?" he asked whilst raising an eyebrow.

"Fine then! I'll battle you!" Jay leapt back and grabbed out a pokeball. "You better be giving me the pokemon once I win though!" The pokeball in his hands enlarged.

"Of course." Sable took a step back and grabbed out a pokeball. "That is though...if you agree to a deal." He grinned vilely as the pokeball in his hands enlarged.

Jay knew it. There was always a deal for a situation like this, and he knew that this time was no difference. "What is the deal?" he asked.

Sable's grin grew considerably larger. "The deal is...if you win, you get back the pokemon I stole..."

"I know that..." said Jay. "But I also know that there's also gonna be a downside. Mind telling me what it is?"

"Ha! So you knew this was coming eh?"

"Just tell me!"

"Ok, chill boy," spoke Sable. "Alright, if you end up losing though, you have to hand me all your pokemon!"

"Ok whatever!"

"So is that a deal?"

"It's a deal I guess..."

* * *

"Jay's still not back yet..." informed May as she glanced at Jay's spot and back worriedly. "Don't you think something is seriously wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm sure of it," said Rose. On the inside though, Rose was really starting to worry. What if Jay was abducted? What if Jay was murdered? All these questions were on her mind, making her very uneasy. _At least I hope nothing is wrong..._

* * *

"Let's go Houndoom!" Sable tossed in the red and white sphere in his hands, splitting upon contact with the ground and releasing white light that materialized in a devil-like sort of hound.

The pokemon blew out some flames from its mouth, showing that it was ready for a rumble. The man in black gave an overconfident smirk. "You'll not beat my Houndoom! It's really tough you know!"

Jay smirked himself. "We'll see about that! Lucario, let's do this thing!" The ebony haired boy threw in his pokeball, the sphere splitting upon hitting the ground. It released white light that materialized into the bipedal jackal-like pokemon.

"Are you ready for a battle now?" asked Jay.

"I most certainly am!" responded Sable.

"Alright then, I'll start things up! Lucario, let's begin with Bone Rush!"

The fighting and steel type put its paws together and formed a bone made entirely of energy.

"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" ordered Sable.

The dark pokemon unleashed a stream of fiery flames from its mouth, aimed at its opponent.

Lucario leapt to the side, evading the fire attack. It then began to charge at the dark pokemon, readying the bone in its hands for a few strikes.

"Dodge the attack Houndoom!"

Once it got in range, the aura pokemon started to swing the energy bone wildly and numerously at its opponent. The dark and fire type dodged all the blows headed for it, and then leapt back afterwards, returning in front of its trainer. The pokemon was now awaiting its next command.

"Good job Houndoom. Now use Iron Tail!"

Houndoom transformed its long and slender black tail into steel. It then leapt into the air.

"Lucario, dodge then Force Palm!" instructed Jay.

The dark pokemon slammed its tail downward, its target: Lucario. The aura pokemon just simply stepped out of the way to dodge the attack. The Iron Tail attack hit the ground, throwing dirt everywhere within a few feet.

Lucario stepped forwards and placed a paw onto Houndoom's belly. A blast of white energy was unleashed from its paw, inflicting quite some damage to Houndoom. The force of the attack blew Houndoom backwards and back in front of its trainer.

"Houndoom, get up and use Dark Pulse!" ordered Sable.

The dark pokemon rose back up from the ground. It opened its mouth, releasing a beam of dark rings from within.

"Lucario, Stone Edge!"

Two separate belts of white energy began to orbit around the aura pokemon. The Dark Pulse attack came, and the two belts of white blocked off and nullified it.

"What?! How's that possible?" Sable was completely surprised.

Jay just smirked.

The two belts of white energy soon became two encircling belts of grey stone. Lucario fired the chunks of stone towards its opponent.

"Use Protect Houndoom!" ordered Sable a bit hastily.

The dark pokemon formed a protective barrier of bluish energy around itself.

Lucario's Stone Edge attack went straight onto the barrier. The barrier fended off the barrage of stone that was initially aimed for the creator.

As soon as all the stone were blocked off, the barrier was vanished. _That was close. I should finish this off now before something like this happens again _thought Sable.

"I'll admit that you are quite an exceptional pokemon battler," said the man in black. "But..." His eyes turned furious red, which freaked the hell out of Jay. "I shall hold back no more! I will finish this battle off now! Then due to the deal we made, you'll be forced to hand over all your pokemon!" Sable then burst out in corrupt laughter.

This laugh from Sable was different to the ones he did before. This time, he sounded a lot more evil. It sent many shivers down Jay's spine. Admittedly, Jay was becoming increasingly scared, but he forced himself not to show it. You see, Jay didn't like showing that he was scared, instead acting brave to hide the true feelings.

"Sorry but it'll be you that'll have to hold on to your end of the deal!" said Jay with as much fierceness and braveness as he could muster up. "This is because I won't be the one to lose! I will hold back no more as well!"

"Well then, may the best man win!" stated Sable with probably the most evil smirk ever.

"...alright!" Jay nodded, attempting to look as courageous as he could. "Now Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

* * *

While drinking up the remainder of the soup left in her bowl, May noticed Rose's worried glances towards Jay's seat. Anna looked to her left and noticed Rose (who was seated next to her) restlessly glancing as well.

"Rose. What's wrong with you? You don't seem relaxed," said Anna. Rose halted her glances for a little, "I am relaxed," she replied. "Can't you see?"

"Rose, I didn't get my brain removed you know. I can easily spot that you're not at ease. Something is bothering you, I know it."

Rose gave a sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you what I'm so bothered about..."

"It's because Jay hasn't returned yet. You're worried that something might've happened to him right?" asked a voice from the other side of Anna.

Rose and Anna turned to the direction of the voice. It was May that spoke.

"You're not the only one filled with worry. I'm pretty worried as well. I mean, who takes this long using the toilets?"

"That is pretty true you know..." nodded Anna lightly. "My cousin's cousin has constipation and he doesn't even take this long in the toilets!"

Rose suddenly stood up from her seat and announced, "I'm going to go and look for Jay! Something must be up!"

May stood up from her chair as well. "Well then I'm going to!" stated May firmly.

Cilan took notice of the two girls who were out of their seats. "What's happening? Why are you two out of your seats? Aren't you going to continue drinking your soups?"

"Cilan, the two are going to look for Jay. We fear that something may be up with Jay," replied Anna.

Cilan looked at Jay's empty seat, then back. "Alright then. You girls go look for him. We'll be here just in case Jay returns in your absences."

"Ok," nodded Rose and May in unison.

* * *

"Flamethrower Houndoom!" ordered Sable. The dark pokemon opened its mouth and blew out a fiery stream of fire towards its opponent.

"Lucario, jump and dodge it!" instructed jay.

The aura pokemon jumped high into the air just in time to avoid the Flamethrower attack. "Now attack with Aura Sphere!"

Midair, Lucario put its paws together and formed a blue sphere of aura in between. It then thrust its arms forwards, sending the blue orb it just formed piercing through the air towards Houndoom as fast as a formula one race car.

"Houndoom, use Iron Tail to deflect the attack back!"

The dark pokemon raised its tail high into the air and transformed it into solid steel. When the Aura Sphere was in range, Houndoom swung its tail forcefully and whacked the orb of aura like playing baseball, back to where it came from.

"Lucario, watch out!" shouted Jay.

Lucario stopped its own attack flying straight back at it while it was still high in the air. The fight and steel type performed a spin midair, dodging the deflected attack that would've otherwise hit it. The aura pokemon then descended back onto the ground, landing perfectly on both legs.

"Nice dodge Lucario!" smiled Jay. His pokemon just grinned, proud of its own skills.

"Jay!" called a voice.

_Huh? That voice sounded really familiar... _The ebony haired boy decided to turn back and see who it was. There the girls stood, Rose and May, staring back at him with their arms on their hips.

"So all this time, you've been here having a fun time battling?" asked Rose. "Seriously? And you said you were going to the toilets!" laughed May. "I guess we were just worrying for nothing."

"You two girls know that this battle isn't just for fun right?" spoke Jay. The two girls took notice of the serious face Jay had. It looked absolutely solemn, as if he was a judge in a very high court. Just staring at the face expression was making them stand as still as a museum artifact.

"Jay, if this is a joke, you can stop now..." said May with a nervous laugh.

"I assure you, I'm being serious. I'm in the midst of a battle against some thief. If I win, I retrieve the pokemon he stole off some man. On the other hand, if he wins...he gets to take all my pokemon!"

Rose and May's eyes grew in surprise. "You accepted that deal?! Are you foolish or did you bump your head somewhere and then become foolish?" asked Rose.

A loud and evil laugh was then heard. The three turned their attentions to the source. It was Jay's opponent, the man in black, who gave the laugh. "This kid is not just foolish, he's very foolish! Those pokemon of his are as good as mine!" He continued to laugh evilly.

This made Jay angry. His face was turning bright red and he was literally steaming from his nose.

"Er...what's happening to Jay?" asked May.

"Sable! Get it through your thick skull! These pokemon won't be yours! I won't lose this battle!" yelled Jay angrily.

"We'll see about that! Houndoom, Dark Pulse!"

The dark and fire type opened its mouth and released a beam of dark rings from it.

"Lucario, break through with Stone Edge!"

Two belts of white energy began to circle around Lucario. The white energy soon became grey chunks of hard stone, which Lucario launched straight towards its opponent's incoming attack.

The two attacks soon collided, with the Stone Edge attack piercing through and continuing to fly through the air towards Houndoom.

"Houndoom, dodge!"

The dark pokemon leapt to the side, avoiding the stones that were aimed for it.

"Now Flamethrower!"

Houndoom opened its mouth and fired a jet of flames straight towards Lucario.

"Lucario, dodge!"

The aura pokemon jumped out of the way of the flames, evading the attack.

"Now Lucario-" A high-pitched scream suddenly rung through the air. Jay thought the voice sounded familiar. _Doesn't that sound like...! _The ebony haired boy turned around. He saw that the Flamethrower attack Houndoom was breathing out was headed straight for the frightened Rose. It was then that time seemed to slow down.

"No Rose!" shouted Jay. Rose placed her arms in front of herself to hide behind, bracing herself for the attack that was going to hit.

"Rose!" shouted May, fearing what the fire attack might do to Rose.

_There's no other way..._thought Jay. He ran in front of Rose and put his arms out protectively. Jay was willing to shield his friend from the impending harm with his own body. "What are you doing Jay?" asked May.

"I'm taking the attack for-aaarrrggghhh!" Jay took the full force of the attack, being inflicted with unimaginable pain. Rose slowly came out from behind her own arms, wondering why the attack hadn't struck her yet when it should've already. What Rose saw occurring in front of her was pure horror. Jay was standing with his arms out in front, shielding her from the fire and taking the attack himself. She could do nothing but helplessly watch.

The fire eventually stopped coming, bringing Jay's pain to an end. A few silent moments came afterwards. Sable had a wicked grin spread across his face. May was horrified. Rose was shocked. Jay was just standing and remaining motionless on the spot. The silence soon broke. "Jay...why'd you do this...? Why'd you take the attack that was going to hit me...?"

Jay slowly turned his head around and faced Rose. He flashed a smile at her. Jay was really hurt. It was obvious. He had black marks all over his body and also numerous burn marks on his face. He looked very weak. It was surprising that Jay was still standing on his own two legs.

"You know Rose...you're my friend...I'll always be here to take a bullet for you...I'll always be your shield...I'll always help you when you need it...cause that's what friends do..."

"But Jay..." The ebony haired boy suddenly collapsed onto the ground, facedown. "Jay!" cried Rose. She knelt down onto the ground near him and shook his body roughly. Jay didn't react. She shook him again. Still no reaction. "Jay, speak to me. Say something!" Rose was growing more panicked with every word she spoke. It was because she was worried about Jay's current condition. Rose shook him again, but he still didn't do a thing. Jay was unconscious because of the massive amount of damage he took.

The evil laugh was heard once again. Rose and May turned their attention to the evil man. "And that is proof that the boy is foolish! He protected his friend, costing himself!"

Rose stood up from her crouching position, keeping her now enraged eyes on the man in black. May looked at her and spotted the angry face she had on. "Are you ok Rose?" She mentally punched herself for asking that question. _Why did I even ask? Of course she's not ok!_

"How dare you hurt my friend and just laugh about it! You twisted freak! I will finish this battle off for him and send you running off!" Rose spoke with a lot of ferocity.

"Yeah, send me running off with all his pokemon!"

"As if that's going to happen! I'm just going to finish you off quickly so I can get away from your stupid voice as early as possible! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

The aura pokemon placed its paws together, forming a blue ball of aura in between. It then thrust its arms forwards, the attack heading off on its fired direction.

"Protect Houndoom!" ordered Sable.

The dark pokemon focused its energy and created an energy barrier around itself. Lucario's Aura Sphere made contact with the barrier, and this created an explosion. The smoke from the explosion begun dispersing, cloaking the barrier from view as well as Houndoom. Because of this, no one knew what really happened...at least not until the smoke cleared off and revealed Houndoom, who seemed unaffected from the previous attack. Rose immediately inferred that the attack she called was blocked off from the barrier Houndoom had around itself.

"Alright Lucario, let's use Bone Rush this time!"

The fight and steel type put its paws together, forming a bluish green coloured bone of energy in its paws. The aura pokemon then began to run at Houndoom, readying its paws for a strike with the held bone.

"Houndoom, get him with Dark Pulse!"

The dark and fire type opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of dark purplish rings directed at its opponent Lucario.

Lucario just leapt to the side to dodge the attack, all the while continuing its swift advance towards it opponent. Once close enough, Lucario utilized the bone in its paws to strike Houndoom nimbly a few times. The dark pokemon was too slow to avoid the attack. It was hit once on the side, once on each of its front legs, and twice on the face.

"Houndoom! No!" cried Sable. His Houndoom was in a heap on the ground, beaten and tired from battling. "Houndoom! Get back up! Come on!" Houndoom heard the demands of its trainer and began using all its efforts to try and lift itself back up onto its four legs.

"I guess it's time to put an end to this battle! Lucario, attack with Aura Sphere!"

Lucario put its paws together and a ball of blue aura began to take shape in between them. The pokemon then fired the ball, targeted straight for the dark pokemon.

"Houndoom! Get up quickly and dodge!" commanded Sable.

Houndoom was still struggling to get back up onto its four feet, it eventually did though and just in time to dodge the Aura Sphere too. "Good work!" praised Sable. "I think not!" spoke Rose. Lucario suddenly appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Houndoom like some sort of ninja. Sable and his pokemon were totally shocked, and it was obvious due to the fact that their eyes were wider than their normal sizes.

"How'd that Lucario do that?!" he spat out.

"Alright, let's finish this off this battle with Force Palm!" ordered Rose with a huge grin on her face.

The aura pokemon placed its paws onto Houndoom's face, covering its eyes.

"Houndoom!"

"Do it!"

The fight and steel type unleashed a blast of white energy out from its palm and at its opponent, the bright light from the attack being too much for the eyes of any witnessing to stand. Because of that, they all had to shield their eyes.

The unbearable light eventually died down after what seemed like a whole long minute. Everyone came out from behind their protective arms to see the outcome of the attack. Sable's mouth opened in shock and surprise, as he spotted his pokemon on the ground, lying flat and limp with swirls where the eyes were supposed to be. _How'd I lose... _This outcome was really overwhelming for Sable. He just couldn't believe it.

Rose was emotionally overjoyed with the outcome, finally emerging victorious in the battle she believed she couldn't lose. _Yes! I did it! I won!_

"Rose! You won!" cried May happily. Rose twisted her head back, facing May and giving her a smile with a nod. She then faced back forwards, looking at the man in black with a smirk. "Now thief, hand me over that stolen pokemon!" She gestured this with her hand as well.

"Well a man does always keep his word..." Sable reached for his pokemon belt and grabbed out a pokeball. He then enlarged the pokeball. "Here! The pokeball!" He tossed the sphere.

Rose expertly caught the pokeball, and then smiled at herself. "Remember this though, one day...no matter what you do, we shall prevail!" The man returned his Houndoom onto its pokeball before swiftly making a retreat. The man disappeared in less than two seconds.

"Jay! Rose! May! There you are!" said Misty. She then noticed Jay who was unconscious on the ground. "Oh no Jay!" She ran up to his side and placed both arms on his shoulders. "Jay! What's happened to him?!" She was shaking Jay's body but he wasn't reacting. In his current state, he was just like some sort of rag doll, shaking wildly and arms and legs moving frailly when shaken.

"Jay's been burned," explained May. "He was hit by a Flamethrower attack and burnt harshly. Look, you can even see the burn marks on his face."

Misty observed Jay's face carefully and spotted the numerous vicious red marks on various parts of his face. The marks made Misty really shocked, as well as fear for Jay's current condition. "We seriously need an ambulance!" she cried, panicked.

* * *

**Reviews are also welcome :) (I can also take criticism, after all, it would improve my writing, and I know I still have a lot more room for improvement) **


	8. Round 2: Battle Against Steel!

**Finally! Another chapter done!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

"Misty? Is that you?" asked Jay to the unknown girl. He was observing her carefully, as if studying her like a newly discovered relic.

The female replied. "Haha! So after all these years, I see you again Jay!" The girl then turned to Ash. "And I see you've met a good friend of mine too!"

"Wait, you know Ash?" asked Jay.

"Yep! I met him at the start of his pokemon journey! I remember it like it was last week..."

* * *

"Who are you?" asked Jay sternly and in a demanding way. "And why are you stealing pokemon?"

The man took a step closer. Jay took a step back. "Who am I you may ask? I'm Sable, that's my name. And why am I stealing pokemon? That's something I cannot answer. Not now at least. All I can say that it is for a good cause," said the man.

"A good cause?" It was the most ridiculous thing Jay has ever heard. Stealing pokemon for a good cause? Yeah right! "That is so unbelievable! No good cause ever involves stealing pokemon from others! That's what evil causes do!"

* * *

"Jay! Rose! May! There you are!" said Misty. She then noticed Jay who was unconscious on the ground. "Oh no Jay!" She ran up to his side and placed both arms on his shoulders. "Jay! What's happened to him?!" She was shaking Jay's body but he wasn't reacting. In his current state, he was just like some sort of rag doll, shaking wildly and arms and legs moving frailly when shaken.

"Jay's been burned," explained May. "He was hit by a Flamethrower attack and burnt harshly. Look, you can even see the burn marks on his face."

Misty observed Jay's face carefully and spotted the numerous vicious red marks on various parts of his face. The marks made Misty really shocked, as well as fear for Jay's current condition. "We seriously need an ambulance!" she cried, panicked.

* * *

**And now let the eighth chapter begin!**

* * *

It was a beautiful morning. The sun shining ever so brightly, bringing bright colours onto everything it made contact with. The birds were also chirping amongst each other with pure harmony, something that could bring warmth into every person's heart.

It would've be good if Ash, Jay and the rest were hanging around outside, but they weren't. They were at a hospital, sitting and chatting amongst themselves in a hall just outside Jay's hospital room. Why was Jay in hospital? It was because of what happened the day before. And even now, Rose, who was the only one currently sitting beside the bed he was resting ever so peacefully on, staring sympathetically at him, could not forget the moment when Jay was hurt severely. How could she forget though? It was one of her best friends who got hurt, and it was just yesterday.

**Start of Flashback**

Rose slowly came out from behind her own arms, wondering why the attack hadn't struck her yet when it should've already. What Rose saw occurring in front of her was pure horror. Jay was standing with his arms out in front, shielding her from the fire and taking the attack himself. She could do nothing but helplessly watch.

The fire eventually stopped coming, bringing Jay's pain to an end. A few silent moments came afterwards. Sable had a wicked grin spread across his face. May was horrified. Rose was shocked. Jay was just standing and remaining motionless on the spot. The silence soon broke. "Jay...why'd you do this...? Why'd you take the attack that was going to hit me...?"

Jay slowly turned his head around and faced Rose. He flashed a smile at her. Jay was really hurt. It was obvious. He had black marks all over his body and also numerous burn marks on his face. He looked very weak. It was surprising that Jay was still standing on his own two legs.

"You know Rose...you're my friend...I'll always be here to take a bullet for you...I'll always be your shield...I'll always help you when you need it...cause that's what friends do..."

"But Jay..." The ebony haired boy suddenly collapsed onto the ground, facedown. "Jay!" cried Rose. She knelt down onto the ground near him and shook his body roughly. Jay didn't react. She shook him again. Still no reaction. "Jay, speak to me. Say something!" Rose was growing more panicked with every word she spoke. It was because she was worried about Jay's current condition. Rose shook him again, but he still didn't do a thing. Jay was unconscious because of the massive amount of damage he took.

The evil laugh was heard once again. Rose and May turned their attention to the evil man. "And that is proof that the boy is foolish! He protected his friend, costing himself!"

Rose stood up from her crouching position, keeping her now enraged eyes on the man in black. May looked at her and spotted the angry face she had on. "Are you ok Rose?" Rose didn't pay attention to May, instead proceeding to saying something to the man in black.

"How dare you hurt my friend and just laugh about it! You twisted freak! I will finish this battle off for him and send you running off!" Rose spoke with a lot of ferocity.

**End of Flashback**

_Jay...why? Why did you have to take the attack for me? Why didn't you just let the attack hit me? I'd prefer being torched and burnt by fire than just standing by watching a friend recover from very harsh injury. _Jay's mother suddenly walked into the hospital room with a down expression, without being known until she spoke.

"Has Jay woken up yet?" asked the woman with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

Rose gave a deep sigh. She had to tell her the truth. She couldn't lie. "No...Jay hasn't woken up yet," the girl replied whilst turning her head away sorrowfully. Rose did this because she couldn't bear to see how Jay's mother would take this. After all, Jay's mother, along with Rose, have been the ones by far to be worried most about him.

"Oh...ok..." Jay mother said, letting her head droop down and all her hope vanishing. She miserably walked out of the room, with only one thing on her mind. _Oh Arceus, I just wish my boy would recover soon..._

"So is Jay up yet?" asked May rising up from her seat, as they saw Jay's mother walk out from his hospital room. As soon as they noticed the expression on the woman though, they immediately knew what the answer was going to be. All their hopes went away.

"No," was the reply given. "He's still not up yet..." Everyone couldn't help but feel bad for Jay's mother. They knew she was going through a very hard time ever since the news of Jay had reached her. It was surprising that Jay's mother hasn't overreacted yet.

"I guess I'll just go home for a little while before coming back and checking on Jay later..." She walked off depressingly, headed back for her home.

"I feel so useless...its so painful to see people so sad..." spoke Anna, not very happy herself.

"I know...this is just awful..." added May with much the same emotion as Anna.

"Well, let's look at the bright side, at least he's not dead or anything..." Max spoke up.

"He has got a point there..." said Dawn.

Following the most previous spoken words, silence came. Everyone was just staring at the ground sadly, not knowing what to do or say next. Misty though, tried to start a new conversation.

"So...Ash...doesn't your team have the round two matches later on at noon today?"

"Um...yeah...we do..." replied Ash halfheartedly.

"Jay is unable to participate, so doesn't that mean we need to substitute in Cilan?" asked Anna.

"Yeah, I guess we do need to sub Cilan in..." said Ash.

* * *

"And we are joined here for the second round of the Striaton City preliminaries of the Pokemon World Championships!"

The crowd went crazy with their cheers and cries. The sound was painfully unbearable, being as loud as an erupting volcano. Possibly even louder than that. Chili had to block his ears to prevent himself from becoming deaf. The cheers eventually died down, and Chili was given an opportunity to speak again.

"Now, we will kick off the second round with our first set of matches! It will be team Pokestars facing off against team Sturdy Steel!"

* * *

"So we're first huh? I guess that means you're up already Cilan," said Anna.

"I shall try my very hardest to win, for the team, and for Jay, who I'm subbing in for!" spoke Cilan as he adjusted his bow. He stood up from his seat and began advancing to the battle arena.

* * *

"The first battle will get underway shortly!" announced the red haired host. "But first, we'll introduce to you the competitors from each side! From the right side, we have the competitor from team Pokestars! He's a gym leader from this city, he's my green haired brother, it's Cilan!" The crowd cheered really loudly as the aforementioned green haired man entered the arena, waving to the crowd all around him.

"And from the left side of me, we have the competitor from team Sturdy Steel! He's tough, and he's a steel type trainer! He's Steel!" The crowd went wild as the aforementioned person stepped into the arena.

Cilan stared at his opponent. He was big and tall man, with short black hair, as well as having big muscles, easily seen because he was only wearing a tank top to cover his torso. Cilan got a little frightened but soon after reassured himself. _It's a pokemon battle, not a fight between him and me._

"I will now hand over to the ref!" spoke Chili.

"Alright! May the two competitors please send in a pokemon," said the referee.

"Ok!" replied the two with a nod.

"You may go first!" said Cilan with a polite bow.

"Alright then!" Cilan's opponent grabbed out a pokeball from his belt and enlarged it. "Here comes my first pokemon! Go Escavalier!"

The man tossed in the pokeball. It split open in the air, releasing a line of white light that materialized into a pokemon that wore knight-like armor and had lances as arms on either side. "Escavalier!" it cried.

"Wow! An Escavalier! It looks quite strong as well!" remarked Cilan.

"I'm glad you think so! I've been training with my pokemon for hours and hours each day, just in preparation for huge tournaments like this!" said Steel, sounding really proud of his efforts.

Cilan smiled. "Alright then, I'll see how my pokemon will go against it!" The green haired man grabbed out a pokeball and enlarged it. "Crustle, come on out!" He spun around, throwing his pokeball straight into the air. The sphere split open midair and white light was released, materializing into a crustacean-like pokemon with a large and heavy looking chunk of stone sitting on its back. "Crustle!" the pokemon cried out.

"Ok! This will be a three on three pokemon battle with substitutions for both sides allowed! The winner will be decided all pokemon on one side are unable to battle!"

The two competitors were eyeing each other with grins plastered onto their faces.

"Now let the battle..." The referee raised his flags high into the air. "Begin!" He swiftly brang down the flags, signalizing the start of the pokemon battle.

"Escavalier, let's start by using Energy Ball!"

The pokemon listened to the command, opening its mouth and forming a green ball of energy right in front.

"Crustle, Rock Wrecker!" ordered Cilan.

His pokemon put its claws together, and a rock with red energy surrounding it began forming in between. The rock continued growing and growing, until it was about five times the size of a gym ball.

At this time, Escavalier fired its attack towards Crustle's direction. Crustle spotted the incoming attack and decided to fire its own attack. The two attacks met in the center of the battlefield, and created an explosion upon contact. Smoke slowly began filling the center of the stadium.

"I guess those attacks were equal!" commented Steel with a smile.

"I would look again if I were you!" spoke Cilan with a smirk. Those words shocked Steel and rushed him to look back onto the stadium. Crustle's rock attack came flying out of the ball of smoke, headed right for his Escavalier.

"Escavalier, look out!" he shouted out hastily.

Escavalier became stunned once it realized its opponent's attack has broken through its own and was now incoming fast. The cavalry pokemon was immobilized, resulting in the attack hitting it squarely. The pokemon cried out its own name in pain as it was thrown backwards onto the ground.

"Escavalier! Get up and use Faint Attack!" ordered Steel. The cavalry pokemon arose from the ground and then turned itself invisible. No one was able to see it now. "Faint Attack huh..." mumbled Cilan thoughtfully. He was scanning the battlefield to try and find his opponent's pokemon as soon as it reappears. Crustle was doing the same.

Suddenly, Escavalier became visible again right behind Crustle. It raised its two lances high into the air, preparing to strike with a downward swing. Cilan noticed the opposing pokemon at around this time.

"Crustle, Shell Smash quickly!" instructed Cilan.

Following split seconds after these words was the landed strike of Escavalier's. The hit was so powerful it created smoke. Towering clouds of thick smoke were forming and obscuring the result of the attack. Well temporarily anyways. Steel seemed all happy about this. He thought Crustle was defeated. "Yes! Crustle down!" said Steel, punching the air.

Cilan just smirked. "You really think so?" Cilan's speech, as well as his smirk confused Steel. _Why would he be happy about one of his pokemon going down?_ thought Steel. He soon knew why. The smoke has cleared off, showing everyone the outcome. It was revealed that only Crustle's stone was there, as well as Escavalier standing right behind it.

"What!? Where'd Crustle go?" asked Steel, surprised.

"Look up my dear opponent!" answered Cilan. Steel did what he was told. In midair, he saw the stone home pokemon. It was glowing bright white, with red cracks slowly forming all around. Steel looked down at Cilan again, only to see that he still had that smirk on his face. Looking back up, he saw that the white energy around Crustle broke off like a shell breaking off. Now Crustle was glowing crimson red.

"Crustle, let's use X-Scissor to finish!"

Crustle was flying back downwards like a meteorite, with its claws put together in an X shape.

"Escavalier, block the attack!"

The cavalry pokemon placed both lances in front defensively in an X shape, preparing for the strike that was incoming.

The two pokemon soon collided, with Crustle in the offense and Escavalier in the defense. Both pokemon putting their all. "Come on Crustle! Keep pushing!" yelled Cilan. "Escavalier, defend with all you've got!" yelled Steel. The deadlock continued, with neither side dominating yet. A few more seconds went by before the build up of power became just too great and an explosion occurred. The smoke consumed both pokemon, making them disappear from view.

Every person watching the match was in silence, waiting for the result.

The clouds of smoke eventually cleared, revealing Escavalier limp on the ground with swirls as eyes and Crustle still up and standing. "Escavalier is unable to battle! Crustle wins!" announced the ref.

* * *

"Alright! Crustle won!" cheered Ash. He punched the air with his fist.

"Cilan appears to have the upper hand now," stated Rose. "This battle is shifting into our favour."

"Rose, don't you mean our favour?" asked Ash with a raised eyebrow. "You're not part of the team after all."

"Whatever..."

* * *

"Escavalier, return!" A red light was shot out of the pokeball; touching and then dematerializing the cavalry pokemon, sending it back to its sphere. Steel then placed the pokeball back onto the belt before grabbing out another and enlarging it. He had a grin on his face. Cilan could tell by this that he was still confident about winning.

"Go Klinklang!" The pokeball was tossed into the air. It was split midair, releasing white light that materialized into some pokemon that looked like a bunch of joined mechanical gears.

Cilan gazed observantly at the Klinklang. Something was different about this one. He knew it. He just didn't know what though.

"What? Surprised my Klinklang is shiny?" asked Steel arrogantly. "You know, I was travelling through Chargestone Cave when I found this guy!"

Those words gave Cilan the answer. The Klinklang was shiny. That was the different feature about it. _Why am I even looking for differences in pokemon for? _wondered the green haired man. _I'm in the midst of a pokemon battle._

"Come on! I understand you're awestruck about my Klinklang but let's just battle already!" Steel was childishly jumping up and down impatiently.

"...right," said Cilan. "Crustle, let's use Rock Slide."

Crustle raised both its claws into the air and a bunch of rings appeared up above. Numerous rocks soon began to fall out from the rings, aimed at bombarding Klinklang and its surrounding area.

"Klinklang, dodge!"

The gear pokemon hovered around all over the place, avoiding the bombardment of falling rocks. In the end, Klinklang had avoided every single falling rock from its opponent's attack. "All right, way to go!" shouted Steel delightedly. He looked directly at Cilan, expecting a disheartened look of some sort. That wasn't it though; instead, Cilan had a smirk. This stunned Steel.

"W-why are you smiling like that?"

Cilan ignored the questioned, instead giving his pokemon the next order. "Crustle, Rock Wrecker!" His pokemon put its claws together, and a rock with red energy surrounding it began forming in between. The rock continued growing and growing, until it bigger than Crustle itself. The rock was then fired at Klinklang. "Klinklang, endure the attack!" shouted Steel.

The gear pokemon stayed on one spot and braced itself for the incoming rock type attack.

The attack soon collided onto Klinklang, the force pushing it back a bit and damaging it a bit although it recovered pretty quickly. "Ha! That's how you endure an attack!" Steel spoke arrogantly. He looked at Cilan, once again expecting a disheartened face. Once again, Cilan had a smirk on his face instead. Why he was smirking, that remained such a huge mystery to Steel. Both attacks he's called on Klinklang so far has dealt little to no effect on it, so why would he still have that confidant face on?

"Crustle, let's go with Rock Wrecker once more!" His pokemon, for another time, put its claws together, a rock with red energy surrounding it began forming in between. The rock continued growing and growing, until it bigger than Crustle itself. The rock was then fired towards Klinklang. "Klinklang, endure it again!"

Klinklang, staying afloat on one spot, once again braced itself for the incoming attack. The giant rock soon hit its target and this time, an explosion occurred. Smoke formed and obscured the view of Klinklang, so whether or not the attack inflicted damage was unknown. It was soon revealed though, when the smoke disappeared. Klinklang was still on the same spot it was at before the explosion. It appeared as if the attack didn't affect the steel type in any way whatsoever. Steel smiled. _He's never going to beat me like this! _the man thought.

Cilan smiled as well. "Haha! Now that I know enough..." _Know enough? What's this all about? _thought Steel. Cilan snapped his fingers. "It's evaluating time!" he announced loud and clearly.

* * *

"Huh? What's this 'evaluating time'? Rose was utterly confused, as shown by her face.

"Rose...you'll see for yourself..." sighed Iris.

* * *

The crowd was dazed. "What in the world is evaluating time?" questioned Steel whilst scratching his head. No one answered this question, because they were all just as clueless.

Cilan closed his eyes and began. "Your pokemon are really good in the defensive department! Yes, very good in fact! Your battle strategy is very defensive, and your pokemon are trained to be just that! I know your weakness though! It's speed! Your pokemon really lack speed!" Cilan opened his eyes again, and a grin grew onto his face at the same time. "And now that I understand your weakness, I shall exploit it!" He grabbed out a pokeball. "Return Crustle!" A red light came out and consumed the stone home pokemon back into the pokeball. The green haired man then placed the red and white sphere back onto the pokemon belt, grabbing out a different one and enlarging it.

"This pokemon ought to use your weakness to my advantage! Sawsbuck, come on out!" He threw the pokeball high into the air. The sphere split and released bright white light, materializing into a deer-like pokemon with its two horns mostly covered by green leaves.

* * *

"How is a Sawsbuck going exploit Steel's weakness?" asked Misty.

"You're really underestimating Sawsbuck's speed Misty. It's ninja-like!" answered Ash. He knew he was not exaggerating when he said that. It was actually ninja-like

* * *

"And how is that pokemon fast?" asked Steel with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to be severely underestimating my Sawsbuck," said Cilan. "I guess I'll just have to show you."

"Alright then, bring it!" Steel was gesturing to Cilan to bring it on. Cilan of course, did so. "Sawsbuck, let's use Megahorn!" With its head down and its horns forward, the season pokemon began charging towards its opponent. Sawsbuck was fast. Really fast. Everyone watching was in total shock. The pokemon was dashing almost as fast as the speed of light. Seriously.

"Klinklang, en-" Steel didn't even finish his next order. His steel type pokemon was already hit by Sawsbuck's horns, and it has taken quite a lot of damage too. Fast and hard hitting, Cilan's Sawsbuck was without a doubt in its own league.

Sawsbuck leapt back to its starting position in front of Cilan. "Sawsbuck!" it growled vigorously.

"I guess I did underestimate Sawsbuck's speed..." mumbled Steel to himself. "I will hold back no more now..."

"Are you awestruck by the speed of Sawsbuck, my dear opponent?" asked Cilan smugly. "I'll admit I've underestimated Sawsbuck that's for sure," replied Steel. "But I will not do so again..."

"Are you sure you'll even get a chance?"

"Ha! You're overestimating yourself now! Klinklang, Flash Cannon!"

The gears that made up Klinklang began turning, and a silverish white orb began forming in front. A beam of light was then fired directly at Sawsbuck.

"Sawsbuck, Double Team!" ordered Cilan.

The season pokemon multiplied itself into about ten different copies. The powerful light beam Klinklang fired just moments before only blasted a few of the illusions.

"Now Sawsbuck, Horn Leech!" Every copy of Sawsbuck (including the real one) lowered their heads and the horns began glowing gold. They then began dashing at Klinklang, with as much speed as before.

"Klinklang, use Metal Sound!" The gears that were Klinklang began spinning, and a harsh, screeching metal sound began emitting all around the stadium. The force of the sound was strong, even rivaling the power of wind. Everyone all around the stadium had their ears covered, because their eardrums could rupture if they didn't.

Despite the sound being loud and as powerful as wind, the Sawsbuck remained unaffected. They just charged on ahead, powering through the sound waves like nothing. The Horn Leeches from every copy of Sawsbuck made its mark, inflicting massive damage all together on Klinklang. The screeching metal sound also halted.

Every illusion of Sawsbuck disappeared, leaving only the real one left. The real Sawsbuck retreated back to the front of its trainer. "Sawsbuck!" it howled.

Steel was no doubt being overwhelmed by Sawsbuck. He knew it. _This Sawsbuck is good...I know I probably stand no chance, but I have to at least try._

"Klinklang, Zap Cannon!" ordered the muscular man.

Klinklang's gears all started to turn, and an orb of yellow electricity began forming in front. The orb of electricity was then launched at its opponent.

"Sawsbuck, dodge!" commanded Cilan.

Sawsbuck waited for a little moment before swiftly leaping to the side and out of the attack's path. "Now use Wild Charge!" Sawsbuck charged forwards speedily, shrouded by yellow electricity. The season pokemon was striking back with its own electric attack.

"Klinklang watch-" But Steel never finished. Sawsbuck has already rammed onto his gear pokemon, full force with his electric attack. Klinklang was tossed backwards through the air and landed onto the dirt ground with swirls as eyes.

The referee observed the fainted Klinklang once more to confirm its condition. "Klinklang is unable to battle! The winner is Sawsbuck!" he announced as clearly as he possibly could.

* * *

"Alright! Just one pokemon left before Cilan wins!" Ash pumped his fist high into the air.

"Pika!" the yellow rodent on his shoulder cried, just as happily.

"Ash, you're just assuming Cilan will win..." Misty said.

"But Misty, that's because Cilan will win!" spoke Ash. He seemed absolutely confident in Cilan's skills. So confident in fact that he would probably bet all his life savings on Cilan winning this battle.

"Ash being optimistic once again..."

* * *

"All right gym leader, get ready to lose all your pokemon to this guy!" uttered Steel. He grabbed out a pokemon from the belt and enlarged it. Cilan glanced at Steel face. The muscular man had a big smirk on his face. Confidence was still in him Cilan could tell.

"Here comes my last pokemon!" announced Steel. "Go Aggron!" He tossed the pokeball into the air. The sphere split, releasing white light that materialized into a huge, mighty, iron armored pokemon.

"Aggron!" the pokemon roared. The pokemon's cry sounded very mighty, comparable to a fierce lion's.

"That Aggron looks pretty tough," remarked Cilan.

"Oh, it is!" said Steel arrogantly. "It'll beat all three of your pokemon on its own! That is a guarantee!"

"We'll see about that!" Cilan gave a smirk.

"Sawsbuck!" the season pokemon cried. It was ready for a rough showdown.

"You're welcome to make the first move!" spoke Cilan with a gentlemanly bow.

"Aggron, use Ice Punch!" commanded Steel quickly. The iron armor pokemon began running at its opponent, with a glowing blue fist pulled back. The pokemon was running, but it wasn't very fast. Even people sleepwalking could probably beat its speed.

"Sawsbuck, let's use Horn Leech!" ordered Cilan with a snap of his fingers.

Sawsbuck lowered its head and its horns began glowing gold. It then began charging forwards, with its two horns in front. Unlike Aggron, it was moving fast.

The two pokemon were headed directly at each other, each having their own attacks ready. Who was going to land an attack, this question was on both Cilan and Steel's mind.

The two pokemon eventually got close enough, Aggron thrusting its ice-infused fist forward and Sawsbuck thrusting its horns forward. Both attacks collided powerfully, creating a deadlock between the two competing pokemon. Both pokemon were giving their all, not wanting to lose. The deadlock stayed neutral for a little, but Aggron eventually became worn out from the continuous amount of time it had to apply its strength. The horns overpowered the worn out pokemon and pushed Aggron away, backwards through the air and onto the ground back in front of its trainer. The landing was pretty rough and inflicted significant damage on Aggron.

"Aggron, you can keep on battling, I know you can!" encouraged Steel. He was silently hoping that his pokemon could still battle. Steel didn't want to lose. If he was to lose though, he didn't want to lose knowing that his toughest pokemon was knocked out after only taking one hit.

"Aggron," the pokemon puffed. It then placed its fist firmly onto the ground and brought itself back up on its two legs. "Aggron!" The cry was louder. It sounded like it still had the strength to battle. Steel was happy about this. He smiled. To him, luck was on his side. "Yes, you're back up Aggron!" Steel celebrated with a fist pump into the air. "Now, use Rock Tomb!"

The iron armor pokemon raised its arms high into the air. A small ball of energy appeared on top of its arms. The ball of energy then grew larger, until it was about twice the size of Aggron itself. The huge ball of energy then transformed into stone.

"Sawsbuck, Double Team!" commanded Cilan. The season pokemon split itself into many illusionary copies.

Aggron, with all its might, hurled the large stone it was carrying straight at the direction of the group of Sawsbuck.

"Sawsbuck, dodge and use Megahorn!" Every single copy of Sawsbuck dodged the giant boulder that was aimed at them. They followed up by charging rapidly to Aggron, with horns aimed forwards. Steel knew this was trouble. The Sawsbuck were very quick, and in no time, their attacks would hit. He decided to react quickly.

"AggronMetalClaw!" he commanded super quickly. No one got what he had just said with the exception of Aggron, his pokemon. The iron armor pokemon extended out its razor sharp claws, ready to strike with them.

The Sawsbuck were coming in real quick, almost a blur. Aggron was just waiting for them to get closer. It was planning to strike all of them at the right time...

The swarm of Sawsbuck eventually got close enough for Aggron, so it decided to try and claw at them. Unfortunately, Aggron missed every single one of the Sawsbuck. They were amazingly fast, so they used their speed to avoid the attack. Straight after Aggron's attempted attack were the Sawsbuck attacks. Each one of them, one after the other, nimbly struck Aggron with their tough horns.

Each strike got Aggron to wince in pain. The damage it was taking was unimaginable. One Megahorn from the Sawsbuck were already painful enough, but to be hit by multiple Megahorns was excruciatingly painful. The intense damage Aggron took from the round of attacks was why it collapsed onto the ground.

"No, Aggron!" shouted Steel. He looked at his pokemon on the ground and spotted several huge marks in various places. This made Steel fear. He feared that this might the end of the battle. Just looking at his iron armor pokemon, he could see that it was close to its limit. Maybe even already at its limit.

Cilan was calmly and silently gazing at the battlefield. His pokemon was still up and full of energy, it could probably go on battling for a lot longer. But Aggron, it seemed like the total opposite. The pokemon was lying limp on the ground, unmoving and hurt. It didn't look like it could go on much longer. In fact, it seemed as though it has already fainted.

The referee was carefully observing the collapsed Aggron, trying to decide whether or not it has fainted yet. He really couldn't tell this time. It seemed as though it has already fainted, yet, it doesn't have swirls as eyes. The referee came to a decision. If it didn't get back up in the next ten seconds, he would declare Cilan the winner.

So the wait began, everybody watching kept their eyes sealed on Aggron. The big question that was on every mind, was Aggron going to get back up?

It has been five seconds and Aggron still hasn't arisen yet. Steel was getting really nervous, and it was only increasing. He knew that if his Aggron didn't get back up, he would lose this battle. Of course, losing this battle doesn't mean his whole team loses, Steel just wanted his team to be ahead.

"Come on Aggron! Get back up! I know you can do it!" he shouted in encouragement. His Aggron didn't respond to that. It was then that Steel lost all hope. The iron armor pokemon wasn't going to get back up. No way on Earth. _I've lost for sure..._

The ten seconds were over, and the giant steel type still hasn't arisen from the ground. The referee decided to announce, "Aggron is unable to battle! The winner of this battle is-" The referee was interrupted by the slight movement of Aggron. Everyone else noticed it as well. A huge smile crept onto Steel's face. _Yes! Aggron is getting back up! We still have a chance to win this! _Everyone watched as Aggron slowly but steadily, picked itself off the ground and back onto its two feet. There was silence. Everyone in the crowd was purely shocked. They thought that after all those hits, Aggron wouldn't be able to stand up straight again, but that was exactly what the iron armor pokemon was doing. "Aggron!" it roared loudly. The steel type wasn't about to give up. Not now, not ever. "Alright!" cheered Steel. He was already planning a comeback in his head.

"Aggron is back up, and the match will continue!" announced Chili loud and clearly.

Cilan just remained silent, all the while staring at Steel. Steel stared back at the emotionless face that was Cilan. Just looking at the emotionless face made his expressions do the same.

They carried on staring silently at each other for the next few moments, like doing a staring contest, none of them blinking, both of them keeping a straight face. Cilan was the first to break the 'staring contest' by talking. "Don't you think we should be battling now? I mean, the winner isn't decided yet, so why don't we decide it?"

Steel nodded his head in response. "Yeah, let's go!" Both of them stared at each other fiercely like rivals, with grins on their faces.

"Sawsbuck, use Horn Leech!" ordered Cilan.

His pokemon lowered it head, and the two horns on top began glowing gold.

"Aggron, use Focus Blast!" ordered Steel.

The steel type put its hands together and focused its energy. A blue orb slowly began forming in between the hands. Also at this time Sawsbuck begun dashing speedily towards its opponent, with its horns pointed forwards.

Aggron saw its opponent incoming, so it released its Focus Blast attack at its direction. Sawsbuck leapt to the side to evade the attack and continued its charge. It wasn't far now. Sawsbuck was almost at its target.

Aggron put up its arms defensively just when Sawsbuck struck, blocking the attack but still taking a little bit of damage. The steel type, using its might, pushed Sawsbuck away and back to the front of its trainer. Cilan was kinda shocked. He didn't know that Aggron still had the power to block off attacks.

"Alright Sawsbuck, let's use Megahorn now!" With its horns pointed forwards, Sawsbuck began bolting towards its opponent.

"AggronuseMetalClaw!" shouted Steel quickly. Once again, no one but his own steel type pokemon understood Steel's fast command. The iron armor pokemon extended its razor sharp claws out. Once Sawsbuck was close enough, it clawed viciously at it, but the attack was once again dodged.

Sawsbuck nailed its horn straight onto Aggron's front side, making it cry out in pain. The season pokemon retreated back to the front of its trainer, waiting for the next command. "Sawsbuck!" it hollered.

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield, Aggron was just barely standing up. It was still affected and hurt from the previous attack.

"Aggron, can you go on?" asked Steel. Aggron slowly turned around and nodded. It looked so weak, it was a wonder how Aggron could still stand.

"I guess this is the perfect time to finish this battle!" said Cilan. He snapped his fingers loudly. "Use Wild Charge!" "Sawsbuck!" It began dashing at its opponent, with yellow electricity cloaking its whole body.

"Aggron, fend off the atta-" Steel never finished his order. The steel type pokemon was hit by the electric attack before he finished talking. The steel type pokemon went sailing through the air, and then crashed onto the ground with a loud thud. This all happened so fast, the watchers barely saw what happened. All they spotted now was Aggron on the ground with swirls as eyes and Sawsbuck standing tall right next to it. It was then that the winner was decided.

"Aggron is unable battle, so the winner of this battle is Cilan!" announced the referee. The crowd began cheering and whistling their hearts out.

* * *

"Alright! Cilan won!" shrieked Ash happily. He was dancing around in circles, with Pikachu barely clinging on. Poor Pikachu, it felt like it was in a rodeo.

"Cilan won alright," said Rose. "So now it's one to nil!"

* * *

"Return Sawsbuck!" A red light came out of the pokeball and dematerialized the season pokemon, and then the light returned. Cilan held the ball close to his lips. "You did a great job Sawsbuck," he praised. The green haired man placed the pokeball back onto his pokemon belt. A flood of relief went through inside Cilan. He stared up into the sky. "I've won. I've won for you Jay," he whispered to the heavens above. Cilan then glanced at his opponent on the other side of the battlefield. Steel was walking to the center of the field. Cilan thought he should meet him there, so he began walking to the center of the field too.

The two men arrived at the middle of the battlefield at the same time. "Nice battle! You put up a great fight!" spoke Cilan cheerfully.

"Thanks! That was definitely a nice battle! You totally blew my pokemon team away!" said Steel. He then held out his hand for Cilan to shake. The green haired man happily did so.

"You definitely deserve your title as a gym leader! You're a tough battler, and you know how to exploit your opponent's weaknesses! Just like every gym leader does!"

Cilan gave a hearty laugh. "I guess so." A few moments of silence followed between the two.

"Cilan right? Would it be ok if I battled you again someday?" asked Steel.

"Why yes, of course!" replied Cilan. "I'll happily oblige to battling you again!"

* * *

**Reviews are also welcome :) I'll also take criticism (it does help improve writing)**


	9. Rising To The Top!

**Another chapter complete. This chapter seems a little random to me...**

**Also, I've started a new story (Quest For Freedom). Check it out if you want, although its only just up to the prologue.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (or any of its theme songs, you'll see why)**

* * *

"Has Jay woken up yet?" asked the woman with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

Rose gave a deep sigh. She had to tell her the truth. She couldn't lie. "No...Jay hasn't woken up yet," the girl replied whilst turning her head away sorrowfully. Rose did this because she couldn't bear to see how Jay's mother would take this. After all, Jay's mother, along with Rose, have been the ones by far to be worried most about him.

"Oh...ok..." Jay mother said, letting her head droop down and all her hope vanishing. She miserably walked out of the room, with only one thing on her mind. _Oh Arceus, I just wish my boy would recover soon..._

* * *

"W-why are you smiling like that?"

Cilan ignored the questioned, instead giving his pokemon the next order. "Crustle, Rock Wrecker!" His pokemon put its claws together, and a rock with red energy surrounding it began forming in between. The rock continued growing and growing, until it bigger than Crustle itself. The rock was then fired at Klinklang. "Klinklang, endure the attack!" shouted Steel.

* * *

"Thanks! That was definitely a nice battle! You totally blew my pokemon team away!" said Steel. He then held out his hand for Cilan to shake. The green haired man happily did so.

"You definitely deserve your title as a gym leader! You're a tough battler, and you know how to exploit your opponent's weaknesses! Just like every gym leader does!"

Cilan gave a hearty laugh. "I guess so." A few moments of silence followed between the two.

"Cilan right? Would it be ok if I battled you again someday?" asked Steel.

"Why yes, of course!" replied Cilan. "I'll happily oblige to battling you again!"

* * *

**And now let the ninth chapter begin!**

* * *

The second round of the preliminaries were going pretty good for team Pokestars. Cilan, the team sub, has just won the first match not long ago. He was determined to win it for Jay though, the person he subbed in for. His determination to win it for Jay was most of the reason why he won. The rest of the reason was simply because he was a pretty decent battler. A gym leader has to have at least some battling skills.

Anyways, the second match was going to get underway in about ten minutes. The group took this time to discuss things to Anna about the next battle, since she was the one going in next.

"So just remember Anna, send in your fire or fighting type into battle first. Since their pokemon are going to be a bunch of steel types, they'll be really effective!" Ash punched the air enthusiastically as he said his reminder. His Pikachu uttered its own cry in approval of Ash's words.

"Ash, you can't just assume that the opposition will just use steel types you know! It's just their team name!" yelled Misty. "Your team is called team Pokestars! Doesn't mean you all only use Staryu and Starmie now does it?"

Those words got Ash. She was right there. The team names didn't mean anything. They were only for identification of the team. "I guess your right..." said Ash with his head down. "Just use whichever pokemon you think will overpower them."

"I already know what pokemon I'm going to use in this battle," said Anna. Ash's head shot up. "You do? Which pokemon will they be?"

"You'll see in the battle!" smiled Anna. It was then that Rose stood up from her seat. Everyone turned and looked at her. "Anna's match is about to start soon. Where are you going?" questioned May. Rose paused a little before replying to the question. "I'm going to check up on Jay at the hospital. I want to see if he's woken up yet."

"Alright then, go ahead," spoke Ash. "Just make sure you root for Anna during her battle! It's sure going to be great!" The raven-haired boy punched the air excitedly.

Rose couldn't help but laugh silently. Like seriously, who else in the world gets excited like Ash does? There's only one simple answer for that question, and it doesn't even take a person that knows him to get it correct. No one else, that's who.

"Ok then, I'll see you guys later," waved Rose as she left the table. "See you Rose!" waved back the rest, like a choir full of deaf performers. They watched as Rose walked through the glass doors and exited cafeteria.

One question went through Iris' head at that time. Something she has been wondering for a while now. _Do Rose and Jay like each other? It sure seems like they do..._

* * *

Rose was standing at the front of a hospital room, checking the room number just to make sure it was Jay's. Nobody wants to end up in a stranger's hospital room. "This is Jay's room alright," Rose spoke to herself and slowly nodded. The hospital room before her was indeed her ebony haired friend's.

Rose stepped into the room. She looked at the hospital bed and found Jay on it, eyes closed and still resting. It just looked so peaceful. Rose assumed that either he hasn't woken up yet, or that he woke up before and went back to sleep.

Rose silently walked over to Jay's hospital bed, being careful not to make any loud sounds that could wake him up. She just stared at Jay resting almost soundlessly.

Rose soon grew tired from standing up, so she took a chair nearby and dragged it lightly to the side of the bed. The girl took a seat on the chair and began brushing her friend's forehead gently, deep in thought. _Jay, I'm still confused. Why did you have to take the attack for me? It's really painful to see you lying here in recovery. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here...I'm really starting to wonder if I'm a good friend or not..._

Rose stopped the forehead brushing and took the TV remote from a nearby bedside desk. She pointed the remote towards the room's television, pressed onto the on button, and the electrical box flickered on.

On television right now, was the live broadcast of Anna's current battle against her opponent. This made Rose turn up the volume and sit up straight to watch.

Onscreen, Anna pointed at her opponent. "Ponyta, Flamethrower!" she shouted.

Her pokemon obeyed the order, exhaling deeply before blowing out a fiery stream of crimson-hot flames.

"Excadrill, dodge the attack!" instructed its trainer.

The Excadrill tried to dodge but miserably failed. It was hit powerfully by the stream of intense flames, taking in massive damage and being blasted backwards through the air.

"Excadrill!" the trainer cried worriedly.

The Excadrill crashed onto the ground, lying down weakly with swirls as eyes. The pokemon has fainted.

"Excadrill is unable to battle! Ponyta wins!" announced the referee. The crowd began cheering deafeningly.

* * *

Anna smiled to herself. She now had the advantage in the battle so why wouldn't she be smiling? On the other hand, her opponent was very disappointed about losing his first pokemon. The guy was now placed at a disadvantage, although he began feeling confident again soon after, remembering that he had two other pokemon. It wasn't like you instantly lost as soon as you lost a pokemon to the opposition after all. It was a three on three pokemon battle, not a one on three.

"Come on Ferron, have you already given up?" asked Anna in a mocking sort of manner. She was growing impatient. Anna wanted her opponent to send in another pokemon quickly so they could continue the battle, not stall time.

"Sorry Anna," apologized Ferron. He returned the fainted pokemon back into its pokeball, and then placed it back onto his pokemon belt. Ferron then grabbed out another pokeball from the belt. The pokeball enlarged in his hands as he smirked.

"Come on and battle Magnezone!" Ferron threw his pokeball into the battlefield, and the item split. White light was released and materialized into a machine-like pokemon with a yellow antenna, two bolts and three magnets attached.

"Magnezone!" the magnet area pokemon boomed.

"Finally! I've been waiting forever!" breathed Anna. "We can at last continue the battle!"

"We'll start! Magnezone, use Signal Beam!" ordered Ferron.

The magnet area pokemon surrounded itself with rainbow energy. The colours looked absolutely beautiful, Anna being unable to take her eyes off the preparing attack. However, Anna snapped out of her dazzled state as soon as the rainbow energy was fired.

"Dodge Ponyta, then follow up with Wild Charge!" the girl ordered.

The fire horse pokemon jumped to the side just before the attack hit, avoiding the attack. The dodge was so professional, like a skilled kung fu fighter evading a punch.

Ponyta started to dash forwards, slowly becoming shrouded by more electricity the closer it came to its target. The attack was looking more like a yellow meteorite now, except it was falling from the air. The attack was coming at its opponent along the stadium ground.

"Iron Defense let's go!" shouted Ferron.

His pokemon obeyed, straightening itself up and then glowing in a grey metallic shade. The pokemon looked like it was made of iron now, totally resistant and shiny.

"Magnezone!" the magnet area pokemon cried. "Ponyta!" the fire horse pokemon cried. Ponyta collided onto the electric and steel type pokemon with an electric surrounded body. "Magnezone!" It was boldly enduring the attack with all it had. Ponyta was trying really hard to overpower its opponent's defenses, but was so far failing.

"Argh! How is your Magnezone enduring the attack?!" spat Anna. She then mentally slapped herself for that question/remark. _It used Iron Defense, that's why its defense is so high!_

Ponyta soon faltered in its attack, and leapt back to the front of its trainer. "Ponyta!" Magnezone, having hardly taken in any damage from the previous attack, floated back down to the front of its trainer. "Magnezone!" Both pokemon sounded vigorous in their cries, giving the idea that both were still able to continue battling.

"Ha! This battle will be an epic one for sure!" smirked Ferron. "Although I'll win for sure!"

"I definitely agree with that!" spoke Anna with a smirk of her own. "Except that it's me that's going to win the battle here!" The two battlers eyed each other like long time rivals, even with the smirks on their faces.

"Ponyta/Magnezone!" growled the two pokemon. They were growing really impatient, and it was easily told. Ponyta was stomping around restlessly, and Magnezone was floating around in much the same way. If pokemon could talk, they would be whining, "Just call out a move already! It's getting boring just watching people talk! We need action!"

"Let's bring this battle to the next level shall we?" asked Anna.

"Why not? Let's do it!" smiled Ferron in reply.

"Ponyta, use Flamethrower!"

"Magnezone, use Thunder!"

* * *

Rose was still watching the broadcast of Anna's battle on TV. She's been watching it for a while now. Rose has nothing else to do, so that was why. Also, she wanted to see if her friend would win her battle. Rose was really considering giving Anna hell if she lost, since if she did lose, she would be the first one in the team to do so, and Rose knew that Anna never really liked losing in anything, especially pokemon battles.

Onscreen, a fire and electric attack collided together on the center of the battlefield, creating an explosion and tossing dark smoke all over the arena. Judging by the amount of smoke prevalent there, Rose thought that there was no way in Earth anyone in the stadium could see anything. You would probably need some sort of x-ray vision to do so.

Jay suddenly began moving side to side in his rest. The sound of it caught Rose's attention almost straight away. She turned right around and began saying, "Jay. Jay, are you awake?" she asked hopefully. Jay's eyes slowly flickered open as if he was purposely taking his time, although this was not the case. As the room came into view for Jay, he groaned. "Where am I?" he asked to no one in particular. His eyes soon went back to normal and Jay could now see everything clearly. The first thing Jay recognized was his friend Rose, gazing at him from above.

"Rose? Is that you? Where am I?" asked Jay sounding tired. Well, he was actually tired.

Rose giggled before answering. "We're at the hospital Jay. After you fell unconscious, we call up an ambulance to pick you up and get you here."

"Oh yeah...that battle..." thought Jay aloud. Rose knew what he was talking to himself about. "Rest assured Jay, I've beaten that thug in the pokemon battle and got him to give the stolen pokemon back." Jay smiled after hearing that. Everything to him, seemed back to normal. Although one question was still flying around in his mind.

"Did that man get his pokemon back?" the ebony haired boy asked. Rose didn't get what he was talking about. "What man? What pokemon?" "The stolen pokemon I was trying to retrieve from that evil guy. Did the owner of the pokemon get his pokemon back?"

"Oh right. We gave that pokemon to the lost property. I'm sure that owner will check there sometime and when he does, he'll find his pokemon."

"Well I guess..." mumbled Jay. He had the feeling of doubt in him, doubt that the man will find that pokemon again, but he couldn't think like that. The ebony haired boy shook the doubts off his mind.

"So Rose...where are the others?" asked Jay. He sat up on his hospital bed and searched around the room for his other friends. He didn't see any of them.

"They're at the stadium battling for the second round of the world championships. Look at the TV screen." She moved out of the way so Jay could have a view of the screen. Jay saw Anna on TV, calling out a move for her docile pokemon.

"Ponyta, use Flame Charge!" The fire horse pokemon began stomping its hooves repeatedly on the ground, kicking up dust and smoke from the battlefield. The dust soon concealed the fire type, and some red light began shining through it. Then, Ponyta came charging out of the smoke, surrounded by angry flames. It looked like a fireball, speedily shooting across the battlefield towards its opponent.

"Iron Defense!" ordered Anna's opponent. The Magnezone attempted to use its move, but it had no time. The fire type attack had already made its mark, inflicting some damage to the victim and blasting it far back, back to the front of its surprised trainer.

Jay fell backwards and laid the back of his head onto the soft, white feather pillow once again. He was just staring at the ceiling above. Silence between him and Rose occurred.

"Rose," spoke Jay suddenly. It scared Rose a little, but she recovered almost immediately. "Yeah?" "Well, its about the Pokemon World Championships," continued Jay. "Do you think that we'll win? I mean, it's the world championships. Trainers from all over the world are in it. Do you actually think we'll win?"

Rose stared deep into his eyes as the question was asked. She could tell he wanted an honest answer. Did she actually think they, team Pokestars could win? Rose pondered about it long and hard.

"Um...Rose? Are you there?" asked Jay as he waved his arms close to the front of her face. Rose snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Jay. "Did you hear what I asked?"

"Um...yeah..."

"So what do you think about it?" Rose thought for a little more before giving an answer. "Well..." she began. "I think, as long as you, Ash, Anna and Cilan give it all you guys got, you guys should make it pretty far. There's even a high probability that you guys will win." They both stared up to the TV screen.

_(Background Music Starts)_

_(It's about reaching for the sky)_

"Ponyta, use Quick Attack!" ordered Anna.

_(Having the courage, and willing to try)_

Ponyta tensed up its body, gathering up power into its body and outlining it white. It then began dashing at its opponent, so fast that it was leaving a white trail of energy behind it. The fire type was a total blur.

_(It's about never giving up, so hold your head up)_

"Dodge it Magnezone!" ordered her opponent. Magnezone was too paralyzed to dodge though. The speed Ponyta was charging towards it, it was just amazing.

_(And we will carry on)_

With its head, Ponyta slammed onto Magnezone's steel body with sheer power.

_(Sinnoh league victors)_

Anna's Ponyta had just sent Magnezone flying through the air, coming back down and landing limp on the ground with swirls as eyes.

_(Pokemon!)_

_(Background music ends)_

Jay and Rose stared back at each other. "And that's proof!" Rose smiled. "All you have to do is give it your all!"

Jay suddenly rose up and got off the bed. This surprised Rose. "Jay! Where are you going?" the girl asked. "You have to stay here so the nurses can check on your condition."

"I'm going to get a cup of water, I'll be right back," replied Jay. "But Jay, if its water you need, I can just get it for you," spoke Rose. "Nah, it's cool. I don't feel comfortable telling a friend to do something like that, especially when I can do it myself." "But wait-"

Rose didn't get to finish and Jay was already out of the room. It was so quick. He could even become an athlete if he wanted to. He would win first every time in sprinting. "Why does he have to be like this...?" Rose sighed.

* * *

"Return!" A red light came out of Ferron's held pokeball, making contact with his fainted Magnezone. The pokemon dematerialized and the red light flew back into the pokeball. Ferron placed the sphere back into the pokemon belt and smiled. "You're a good battler. You definitely have the skills to win this tournament. But..." The trainer grabbed out another pokeball and it enlarged in his hands. Ferron's smile grew wider. "But you will definitely not win against me! I will beat you using only my lucky last pokemon!" Ferron was really confident, it was easy to tell. He had on his face now, the most confident smirk in history.

Anna found his smirk a bit freaky. It made her opponent look a bit like an alien, an ugly one too.

"You're a bit too overconfident, don't you think?" questioned Anna with her hands on her hips.

"No way! You're the overconfident one!" spat Ferron. "Come on Metagross, let's go!" The trainer threw out the pokeball. It split in the air, releasing white light that materialized into a steel and psychic type pokemon, with a disc-like main body, four arms on each corner that looks like its first evolutionary form Beldum, a gray cross that goes across its face and angry looking red eyes.

"Metagross!" the pokemon cried vigorously. It was readying itself for a good rumble.

"A Metagross huh? They're strong, but not stronger than my Ponyta!" spoke Anna confidently. She knew that her pokemon had the type advantage, so she assumed that her pokemon would be able to effortlessly claim victory.

"Ok then, how about we see what the battle says?" asked Ferron.

"Yeah, let's see what the battle will say!"

The two trainers were staring at each other fiercely, with huge overconfident smirks on their faces, as if they were competing for the position of smirking champion.

"Ponyta use Flamethrower!" shouted Anna.

"Metagross use Gyro Ball!" shouted Ferron.

* * *

Rose was waiting quietly back at Jay's hospital room, waiting for his supposed return. So far she has already been waiting for approximately ten minutes, and Jay hasn't returned yet. All the boy went to do was get a cup of water for himself and come back. Maybe he was having more than a cup of water? Three or four cups possibly. Maybe Jay decided to get himself a snack as well while he was there? That was a possibility. Or maybe...he was in trouble again. Rose tried not to think negatively, and tried to convince herself that Jay would be back soon, but as the seconds went by, she was doubting the belief more and more.

"Come on...does it really take this long to get a cup of water Jay?" Rose asked herself impatiently. She really didn't want this to be the answer, but maybe Jay did tangle himself up in another problem.

After a minute more of waiting, the girl decided that she had lingered around enough without doing a single thing. So with that, Rose exited the room, going off to search for her unreturned friend.

Rose was in giant reception of the hospital, frantically searching for Jay. She had already searched every place twice. Behind the row of seats, behind the reception desk, behind the potted plants, near the glass entrance, near the water dispenser, the ebony haired boy was not in sight anywhere.

Rose figured beforehand that her friend would be at the place because the water dispenser was also there, and her friend said that he went to get a cup of water, so she was there.

Jay must've been some sort magician, because Jay was not there. He might've went back to his hospital room, but that seemed unlikely, because Rose would've seen him.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" asked a voice from behind. Rose knew who it was, and turned around immediately to scold.

"Jay! Where have you been?! Didn't you come to get water?" Rose was furious, and her face said it all. It was angry red, her mouth and eyes twitching uncontrollably and forceful steam puffing out from her nose and ears. No joke.

"I was just in the toilets! Besides, why are you so worried for? Nothing is going to happen! Can't you just have a little trust in me sometimes?!" growled Jay back. He was also furious. Firstly, who ever told Rose she had to be worried for? Also, why was it that everyone thought he would get into trouble every single time? Was he that reckless?

Rose was taken back by his retaliation. She never expected Jay to do so, but once again, the most unexpected things always happen. It happens so frequently, the word expected should become the word unexpected and vice versa.

Rose felt bad, bad that she didn't trust Jay enough. She never believed he could do things on his own, always being beside him, ready to assist. Jay was a reckless boy and Rose was a caring person, so it only made sense.

"I'm really sorry..." said Rose as her head went down. "I should have a little bit more trust in you...I guess its just that...that..." Jay's anger automatically dropped as he saw the drooped look his friend had.

"Rose...I shouldn't have growled at you...I know you were only trying to be helpful...it should be me that is sorry..." apologized Jay. Rose looked up at her friend, staring straight into his eyes. The dark brown eyes, they showed an apologizing look, due to the fact that he was really sorry for his outburst.

* * *

"Now let's go with Flamethrower!" ordered Anna.

Her fire horse pokemon inhaled deeply before blowing out a stream of hot fire directly towards its opponent.

"Metagross, endure the attack!" shouted Ferron.

Metagross lifted a leg up into the air and thundered it back onto the ground. It braced itself for the incoming stream of fire. The attack was sure going to be intense.

The look on the iron leg pokemon's eyes. They were filled with sheer determination, losing was certainly not an option it was considering. The Metagross had probably been trained to withstand fire before, which is why its trainer even commanded it to do so. If you were positive that your pokemon couldn't endure an attack, you wouldn't even tell it too in the first place.

_Metagross looks really determined; it seems ready to fight to the end. I'm afraid I might lose...but then once again, all I need to do is give it my all right?_

The flame attack hit Metagross directly onto its face. The steel and psychic type with all its might, began to endure the powerful fire. It wasn't one bit, seeming like it was struggling.

_Give it my all. That's all I need to do. As long as I do that, I'll achieve. _A smile crept onto Anna's face. _We're going to rise to the top!_

She came out from her thoughts. "Ponyta, put more power into your Flamethrower!"

* * *

**Reviews will help me a lot! Please review if you can :)**


	10. Extra Chapter: Something To Be Wary Of!

**Ciao again people! Yet another chapter complete (not really a chapter). I also thank everyone who has read (or at least viewed) my story so far. A bit more than 3000.**

**This is an extra chapter. They'll be more as I progress more into the story (every single one of them will be a least a little bit related to the story).**

**Also, everyone is welcome to check my other story (Quest For Freedom). It is in progress with a prologue and two chapters up already.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

"What did you just say?!" snapped the man. He was dressed in a very business-like way, having on a business suit with pants to match the style, and a black and orange coloured stripped tie.

Right now, this man was in his office, unleashing the flaring rage he had onto a black caped man standing right in front of him.

"How dare you! Coming up directly to my office, requesting a one on one talk with me, and reporting a disgusting failure!" The man in his business suit hammered his office desk powerfully. The action created a loud bang noise; this alone telling that he was outrageously furious.

The man kept his hammered fist on the desk, whilst glaring at the man before him and inhaling angry breaths. He was most likely demanding for an explanation. A good one too.

The caped man never cringed, instead remaining nonchalant as he eyed back at the man in front. He then spoke as calmly as his standing posture, "I am sorry for this failure boss. This will not happen again." The man gave a humble but firm bow.

The business suited man seemed to have lost most of his anger after that. He took a couple more calmer breaths before saying, "Failure better not happen again. You just make sure of that." The tone of his voice made it sound like a demand, a relaxed one though.

A grin spread across the caped man's face. "I'll make sure of it. I will never fail again. From now on, whatever mission you assign me to, I promise I will not fail you again."

The caped man's spoken words washed away the remaining doubt that was in his mind, like it was a shower for it. For the first time in the evening, he smiled. "Good! You may leave now!" The business suited man pointed to the direction of the double doors that lead out of the office.

The caped man slowly exited himself out of the room with a thought on mind. _Watch yourself kid...I'll be coming for you...I'll make sure you pay for making me fail my mission! _He evilly grinned.

The man in the business suit wordlessly watched as the caped man left the office, shutting the doors behind him.

The business suited man then slumped down lazily onto his chair, happy that he could now relax in peace. Everyone liked a little bit of relaxation time, even bosses.

Relaxation time was short-lived as a knock interrupted it. The man sighed before saying, "Come in," in a clearly unhappy tone. He was hoping that it wasn't another report of failure. One more and the man would most likely explode.

The knocker opened the doors and entered. It was a woman, wearing a long orange dress with orange high-heels. She had long brown hair, and pretty green eyes, ones that weren't hard to get lost in.

The man easily recognized her as his beautiful, loyal, hard-working secretary.

"Sir, I've got something to say to you. Something very important. Possibly even something our organization should be wary about."

"Argh! Seriously?" grumbled the man. He was in no mood for anymore bad news, especially after getting a whole day full of them. Even his right-hand man failed today, and he never failed. Obviously, he would be peeved. "Can't I get some positive news for once? Something like 'We have successfully robbed five hundred pokemon from the daycare today', or something along those lines!"

His secretary just laid down a computer tablet she had in her hand (similar to a real life iPad) onto the office desk and indicated to it. "Just look!" she said a bit irritably.

The man in his business suit sighed before looking at the tablet screen. All he saw was a bunch of data...on some world championship team? Now why should he be worried about them? This confused the man, and also angered him as he thought the secretary was just wasting his precious relaxation time.

"Yeah? What about..." The boss focused his eyes on the words on the screen, reading the team's name out. "Team Pokestars? Why should we be wary of them? Explain how in the world they can perhaps be of some threat to us."

"Well..." began the secretary. "As you see here..." She pointed to the team's statistics. "Other than our team, they were the only ones to have won both beginning rounds without losing a single battle."

The boss stared down at the pointed spot, and what he saw was true to what his secretary said. Although they did have no loses so far, the man didn't see why he had to be worried about them for.

"So? What about their straight wins so far? Just because they've accomplished such a thing, doesn't mean that they should be something we should be concerned about," opined the business-suited man.

"Well sir..." said the secretary. "Do you also know that they were the ones responsible for Sable's mission failure."

The boss stood up from his seat in surprise. "What?! Is this true? You better not be pulling my leg!" he growled. To him, it was just unbelievable. _How could Sable have been defeated...?_ The man looked down onto the tablet and saw the portraits of the team members of Pokestars. _By some kids?_

"Yes. I assure you that I am not lying," confirmed the secretary.

Her boss just remained motionless, deep in thought for a few seconds. After he finished, "Good, you may leave now," was his command to the secretary.

"As you wish sir." She bowed down humbly before exiting the office.

"Hm..." said the man as soon as the secretary left. "I guess...that team is something we should be watching out for. Even though it is unlikely...they might ruin our plans for world domination."

The man then looked down at his desk and realized the computer tablet that his secretary left behind. He didn't worry about that though, instead reading the team name that was on the screen. He wanted to make sure he'd remember it.

"Team Pokestars..." the business man mumbled to himself.

* * *

**The school holidays begin tomorrow, so I'll be updating more frequently for the next two weeks :)**

**Also, reviews are welcome. I'm lacking them :( Reviews will be thanked!**


	11. Hilbert and Hilda!

**Another chapter finished :)**

**Now, starting from this chapter, Pearlshipping will become more of a thing. Yep, it IS a adventure/romance story after all. I'll try my hardest, but I was never that good with romance.**

**I also didn't know what to call this chapter...so yeah...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

"Excadrill, dodge the attack!" instructed its trainer.

The Excadrill tried to dodge but miserably failed. It was hit powerfully by the stream of intense flames, taking in massive damage and being blasted backwards through the air.

"Excadrill!" the trainer cried worriedly.

The Excadrill crashed onto the ground, lying down weakly with swirls as eyes. The pokemon has fainted.

"Excadrill is unable to battle! Ponyta wins!" announced the referee. The crowd began cheering deafeningly.

* * *

"Come on Ferron, have you already given up?" asked Anna in a mocking sort of manner. She was growing impatient. Anna wanted her opponent to send in another pokemon quickly so they could continue the battle, not stall time.

"Sorry Anna," apologized Ferron. He returned the fainted pokemon back into its pokeball, and then placed it back onto his pokemon belt. Ferron then grabbed out another pokeball from the belt. The pokeball enlarged in his hands as he smirked.

"Come on and battle Magnezone!" Ferron threw his pokeball into the battlefield, and the item split. White light was released and materialized into a machine-like pokemon with a yellow antenna, two bolts and three magnets attached.

* * *

_Metagross looks really determined; it seems ready to fight to the end. I'm afraid I might lose...but then once again, all I need to do is give it my all right?_

The flame attack hit Metagross directly onto its face. The steel and psychic type with all its might, began to endure the powerful fire. It wasn't one bit, seeming like it was struggling.

_Give it my all. That's all I need to do. As long as I do that, I'll achieve. _A smile crept onto Anna's face. _We're going to rise to the top!_

* * *

**And now let the tenth chapter begin!**

* * *

A group of men wearing orange coloured armour were chasing after brown haired teenage boy wearing a cap resembling a pokeball. The chase has been on for quite some time now; the poor boy was running out of energy quick. If this were to continue, the boy would be captured...again.

"Come on boy, you can't run away from us forever!" shouted a voice from behind. The boy ignored the voice and just kept on running with all he had. That's all he had his focus on. After all, he wasn't prepared to go back to that situation. Not now, not ever.

**Start of Flashback**

The boy regained his consciousness and found himself in an eerily dark place. It was so black he couldn't see one thing. Not even himself. Wait...the boy felt his hands...they were chained together. And his feet...they weren't touching the ground. The boy started swinging wildly all over the place, in an attempt to break free from the chain constricting his hands.

"Where am I?! Let me out of here!" he demanded to no one in particular. The only thing around him was empty air, the boy assumed. Some thugs probably chained him up here while he was still unconscious and ditched him. Wait a minute. Thugs...

Memories of events for earlier on began popping up in the boys mind. The events that occurred before he went unconscious.

"I remember..." he mumbled to himself. "Those orange armoured guys...they captured me...they jumped out of nowhere...and got me...then...then they brought me to some abandoned warehouse...and that's where everything went black."

Wait...the warehouse. That was probably where he was. In that warehouse being kept prisoner.

"Come on! Just let me out of here!" yelled the boy as loudly as he could. He started swinging wildly some more in frustration. The boy secretly hoped that someone, at least someone that heard him.

What the boy hoped for came true, as someone replied, "No. We will not let you out of here Hilbert!" A voice the boy knew really well. The light then flashed open, brightly illuminating the previously dark place.

Now that the boy could see, he took glances around himself. Yep, he was correct. He was still in that warehouse. The boy then decided to look for the speaker from just a few seconds ago. He undertook another round of glancing around, and standing quite some distance away on top of a pile of boxes, was a black haired man dressed in business attire.

"Sol..." the boy muttered.

"So Hilbert, you said that you wanted to be let go right?" asked the man almost mockingly. He jumped down from the pile of boxes and began approaching the boy.

"Yeah! So why can't you let me go?!" boomed Hilbert.

The man stopped and placed a hand onto Hilbert's shoulders. "It's because...we won't let you go until you join us," said the man.

It was then that Hilbert remembered. He was offered the same thing before and got knocked out for declining. "No! I will not join you and your team Sol! You must be dreaming if you ever thought I'd say yes!" Hilbert spat into the man's face. The teenager was willing to be knocked unconscious again, because no matter what, he didn't want to join the villainous team. Even if saying no would bring him death, he would still happily decline.

"Fine then." Sol closed his eyes, wiped his face, and began walking away. "But I'll just be telling you now. You will not be let go until you join us!"

"Yeah! Keep dreaming! I rather die!" screamed Hilbert. What he was saying was the absolute truth. Like mentioned before, he would happily decline, even if it would mean death.

The chained boy just watched as Sol left the warehouse, and the lights turned off again.

Suddenly, sounds of alarms began blaring noisily all over the place, flashing bright red lights as well. It seems as though the security of this abandoned warehouse still worked.

As the alarms continued to sound, thoughts raced through Hilbert's mind. _What in the world could've triggered the alarms...wait...what if...I hope not..._

The chains that were tying up his hands suddenly broke, and Hilbert fell onto the hard concrete ground, landing bottom first.

"Oww!" Hilbert got up and rubbed his pained bottom.

"Now...I don't know who broke those chains but I'm thankful for the one responsible. I can finally escape from this dumb place!" He pumped his fist into the air. 'What a kid!' would've been the statement someone in particular would've used. If she was there of course.

Hilbert only ran a few steps when he abruptly collided onto something and fell backwards, bottom first. A consequence the boy was bound to receive, since he was not watching where he was going.

"Oww!" Hilbert got up and rubbed his sore bottom once again.

**End of Flashback**

Up ahead, Hilbert spotted a bunch of pokemon. They were all gathered around, as if they had something surrounded. Maybe they were performing some sort of tribal ritual, dancing around a fire? It didn't really seem like that.. it seemed more like...no. Now wasn't the time to be pessimistic...was it? No. _Never be pessimistic_ the teenager reminded himself. But still, he couldn't help but think it was...

"Somebody, help!" cried a needy female voice from behind the crowd of pokemon. The voice sounded very familiar to Hilbert. He mentally racked his brain and found the person whose voice matched. It was the voice he feared would be the one yelping for help. _Out of all people, why her?_

"Hilda!" he shouted back as he kept on running. "Is that you? Please don't tell me it's you!" The boy was deeply wishing that it wasn't his good friend Hilda that was in the center of trouble, despite having the exact same voice. Unfortunately, his wishing didn't come true...

"Hilbert! Help me!" Just as Hilbert feared. One hundred and one percent Hilda.

"D-don't worry, I'm coming to rescue you!" he shouted hesitantly. There was a slight problem. Actually, it was a big problem. How was he going to save Hilda? Well...there was only one thing he could try.

* * *

"Such a peaceful night isn't it?" asked a certain blue haired co-ordinator. She was just leaning against the railings of a balcony, taking her time to admire the beautiful night scenery below and to ponder about certain things.

In reply, her most trusted partner cried, "Piplup!" Agreeing with Dawn's statement.

Piplup was taking a glance around the vast view below them, and during this, noticed its trainer's blue eyes, which were staring out into the open air like a stone statue. Immediately, the blue penguin knew that she was deep in thought. Thinking about a certain thing for sure...but Piplup wanted to confirm.

"Piplup?" questioned the penguin pokemon.

Dawn snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her pokemon. To her, it seemed as if it wanted to know what she was thinking about. The blue haired girl didn't want to disappoint, so she said, "You want to know what I'm thinking about, right Piplup?"

"Piplup!" the blue penguin nodded its head to confirm.

Dawn giggled lightly before staring back into the view below. "Well..." she began. "I've just been thinking about a few things..."

"Pip," said Piplup. It already knew that. It wanted to know what the thoughts were about.

"Well...I've actually been thinking about this ever since we got back here at Unova..." continued Dawn. "I've been thinking...about..." She placed both her hands onto her heart.

Just seeing this put a smile onto Piplup's face. Just as it thought...or so it seemed like it so far.

"Hey there Dawn," said a voice from behind.

This startled Dawn a great deal. Almost as if a ghost randomly scared her out of nowhere. Dawn quickly removed her hands from her chest and turned to face the newcomer. "Hey May."

May almost began laughing, but she held it in. What exact did she just witness for a split second there? She thought she was hallucinating...but it looked like Dawn was just feeling her own...chest... May decided that this was pretty unlikely. She had never known her blue haired friend to be homosexual, but who knows? For all May knew, Dawn might have be trying to keep away anyone from the truth.

Pushing away her thoughts May asked, "Mind if I stare at the view with you?" she asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Dawn replied, moving over to make space for her friend. May took a polite bow before stepping up and joining Dawn on the edge of the balcony.

She leaned onto the railing, letting her hair blow gracefully in the light breeze whilst happily taking a deep breath of fresh air. "Beautiful view huh?" spoke May as she released her breath.

Dawn nodded her head in strong agreement. "Sure is!"

The two girls just continued to stare wordlessly at the amazing view that was sprawled out below them.

During the silence, Dawn was hoping that May wasn't going to ask about what she was doing just before. She didn't want to say anything about it, but she didn't want to lie to her friend either.

Meanwhile, May was thinking about what she should say to Dawn, something good to start off a conversation. _Maybe a question would start off well...hm...What were you thinking about?_ May smiled at herself for thinking up of the question. The perfect conversation starter...at that time at least.

"So, um...what were you doing before I came?" inquired May. "More specifically, what were you thinking about before I came?" She was secretly about to suggest her own answer with 'Thinking about feeling yourself?', but of course the reply would've been no, even if it was true. Who would actually admit to someone that they've been clandestinely feeling themselves? Well, not that self-pleasure was wrong...in May's opinion at least.

As soon as the question was asked, Dawn began panicking in the insides. _What do I tell May? I can't tell her what I've actually been thinking about, but I can't lie to her as well... _After moments of pondering, she finally settled with the former. Yeah, she was actually going to admit what she was thinking about.

"Well..." began Dawn slowly. She didn't know how else to go on without letting her cheeks go red. She didn't want May to see her blushing after all. Although once she thought about it, no matter how she was going to put it, she was still going to end up blushing. So Dawn, with a little bit more confidence, attempted to continue. "I was actually thinking about..."

* * *

"Eelektross, let's go!" Hilbert threw his pokeball up into the air and it split. Out came white light, which materialized into a blue and cream coloured eel-like pokemon.

"Now Eelektross, use Thunder at the men behind us!"

The electric type leapt into the air, spun around, and unleashed an enormous line of electricity, shooting it straight at its master's pursuers.

By the time they realized, it was already too late to react. The large amounts of electricity zapped every one of the pursuers, the shocking volts travelling throughout their entire bodies. The bunch of men fell to the ground as the attack ended, all fried up and as black as charcoal. That ought to have traumatized them for the many approaching years.

"Now come on Eelektross, time to help Hilda!" gestured Hilbert. His electric type followed him as they ran towards the crowd of pokemon. Speaking about the crowd of pokemon, they were more closely huddled then before now. That wasn't good. It means the pokemon would probably have a hold of the prey pretty soon.

Hilbert was determined to not let that happen though. He was going to get Hilda out of there. After all, the boy figured that it was thanks to her that he was not still tied up.

The brown haired boy continued running, as fast as his legs could go. Despite this though, he still feared that he wouldn't reach Hilda in time. This was because the pokemon were so closely packed together; it resembled particles in a solid.

"Come on...I'm not far now," spoke Hilbert to himself. He was not far now, close enough that all he needed were several more seconds.

Very suddenly, some men jumped out from the nearby bushes and ambushed Hilbert and his Eelektross, having them surrounded in a circle. That utterly crushed the last chances of saving Hilda. Also something Hilbert noted, these men were wearing the same orange armour as the people who were chasing him before. They obviously worked under the same organization.

"Ha! We've got you surrounded kid! Just give up your futile resistance already!" said one of the surrounding men. A pokeball enlarged in each of the surrounding men's hands, and as if they rehearsed, every one of them threw in their pokeballs at the same time. Also at the same time, all the pokeballs split, all releasing light that materialized into the same purplish monster like pokemon. Nidoking.

Hilbert silently cursed this. _Out of all pokemon, why Nidoking?_ He knew the fact that his Eelektross couldn't affect them with any electric attacks, which peeved him to the core. _And out of all types Nidoking could've possessed, why does one of them have to be Ground? Dumb life._

It all seemed hopeless. He couldn't save Hilda from her imminent capture now. All he could was just watch, and even that, he could see properly as the men surrounding him were fencing off part of the view. The next occurrence...it was simply a miracle.

"Lucario, Bone Rush!" The voice seemingly came out of nowhere, and so did the aura pokemon that popped out from the bushes to comply. It already had a bone staff made of energy, gripped with its two paws, so it went around swiftly to each Nidoking, sweeping them off their feet with a quick yet powerful swing to the legs.

Hilbert was left awestruck; he couldn't register what just happened. All he saw was a pokemon jump out from behind the bushes and within seconds, all the pokemon surrounding him were knocked out. Yes, the strikes knocked every single one of them out as well. One hit KOs; it showed that the Lucario was well trained.

_Who was that...? _was all Hilbert thought.

From the cover of the bushes, a boy with ebony hair walked out to reveal himself. "Great job Lucario!" he praised to his pokemon. All it did was grin in return.

"Hey, thanks for helping me," said Hilbert kindly.

"Don't mention it!" laughed the ebony haired boy. "You seemed to be in trouble there, so I helped you out."

"AAAHHHH!" came a scream. Hilbert knew the voice all too well.

"Come on! My friend still needs help!" he spoke to the other boy.

So the two boys ran off to help the person in need of it.

Once the bunched up pokemon were within an attack's range, the ebony haired boy commanded, "Lucario, Stone Edge!"

This struck worry into Hilbert. What if the stones hit Hilda? "Don't do it, you might hurt my friend!" he tried to convince.

"Don't sweat it, it won't hit your friend! Trust me!"

How could Hilbert trust a guy that he didn't even know? He was thinking not to trust the boy, but then thought otherwise. The boy did help give him assistance before, so he thought the boy deserved some trust from him.

Two encircling belts of white energy formed around Lucario. The encircling belts of energy soon transformed, turning into belts of grey stones instead. The encircling stones were then fired off to the direction of the target pokemon.

The rock type attack made its mark on numerous amounts of pokemon, even causing enough damage to make them faint. This Lucario was powerful, as if it consumed large boxes of stat raising drinks before.

The unable pokemon feel onto the ground, revealing an opening in the surrounding circle that brought the surrounded person into view.

"Hilbert!" Hilda cried. "I'm so glad you've come to help!" She had her body all curled up; it showed that she was scared to death.

"Stay there Hilda! We'll defeat these pokemon first!" Hilda nodded her head to say ok.

"Ok Eelektross, Brick Break!" The elefish pokemon leapt up into the air and raised an arm above its head, the end of it glowing white.

Eelektross descended back down and once close enough brought its glowing arm down to powerfully strike an Absol. The Absol fainted immediately after that. Well it was a super effective move, and Absol were known to have not-so-good defense, so of course it would have fainted.

"Lucario, let's get the job done! Bone Rush!" ordered the ebony haired boy.

His pokemon put its two paws together and a bone of energy formed in them. It used the energy formed weapon to swing at the remaining pokemon, knocking them out also. And that was when the result for the mission to save Hilda was decided: accomplished.

Hilda ran up to Hilbert and gave him a big hug. Hilbert returned the embrace, while blushing at the same time. "I'm thankful for you rescuing me Hilbert! If it weren't for you, those bad guys would've captured me! Who knows what could've happened to me? I could've been tortured. I could've been raped." Hilda started shedding small amounts of tears after the last words.

Hilbert began stroking her hair gently. "It's nothing like that," he spoke softly. "But what they do is almost as worse..." Awful memories clicked on in his brain. The memories of what they did to him after they captured him. They whipped him, they punched him, they did as many thing as they could to inflict as much damage as possible; it was done without any intention on killing, because all they wanted him to do was join their organization.

"Oh Hilbert, I'm so glad your safe," spoke Hilda tearfully. She tightened her embrace.

Just being on the sidelines watching the glorious reunion scene unfold in front of him, the ebony haired boy felt as if he was in the happy ending of one of those movies. Well...almost, because this was real life. Just watching this also made him think. _Man...them two have such a tight bond with one another... _He sighed. _I wish I had someone that I could share a bond with like that..._

Slowly, Hilbert and Hilda released their embraces on each other, letting the other free. Hilda wiped the remaining tears from her face, before the pair approached the ebony haired boy who was still standing around.

"I thank you for rescuing me," expressed Hilda. "I'll be forever in your gratitude."

"Yeah, I express my eternal gratitude as well." Hilbert placed his palm and his fist together, and did a bow.

"Like before, don't mention it!" said the ebony haired boy. "I was only helping those in need."

"Hey, you also haven't told us your name. Mind telling us what it is? After all, we would like to know our savior's name."

"My apologies for not telling my name before. I am Jay, nice to meet you. And my partner pokemon over here is Lucario." The boy used his thumb to point at his aura pokemon. It just casted them all a smile.

"Nice to meet you too Jay. I'm Hilbert and this is my Eelektross," he pointed to his elefish pokemon, who weirdly waved back. Pokemon could greet in the form of waving now? That is interesting.

"Nice to meet you Jay. I'm Hilda," she introduced.

"Well it's nice to know your names!" smiled Jay.

Just then, a voice was heard. It appeared as if it was coming from around a few trees away. "Jay!" called out the voice. "Where are you?"

Jay knew that voice anywhere. It was Rose. Probably out to find him and get him back to hospital; it wasn't Jay's time to get out of hospital yet, he still had till tomorrow before he could go. To put it simply, Rose was out to find Jay because he was not where he was supposed to be.

"Oh, look at the time. I gotta fly! I hope I see you guys again," Jay quickly waved in valediction.

"But what for? Why are you leaving in such a hurry?" The question was ignored completely as Jay sped off into the concealing night shadows of the surrounding trees.

Just as Jay left, the person who was calling out for him appeared, which was Rose.

"You two," said Rose as she approached Hilbert and Hilda. "Have you seen a boy pass by? He has ebony hair and is a little taller than I am."

Hilbert and Hilda took a quick glance at each other before turning back to the newcomer and answering, "Nope. We haven't seen anyone like that."

"Ok, well thanks anyways." And with that, Rose walked off, continuing her search for Jay.

* * *

"Well..." repeated Dawn for what seemed like the one-billionth time already. May knew that it was something she didn't really want to say, hence why there was such difficulty in answering such a simple question. _Maybe she was thinking about feeling herself before?_ thought May. _And not only think, but she also **did** feel herself._

"You know what Dawn? You don't need to answer that question. I understand that what you might've been doing might've been a bit...private..." said May.

Dawn felt relieved. She didn't have to tell May about it anymore...not for now at least. Although, Dawn knew that May would find out eventually, and boy was she not looking forward to that time.

"Well...I think I'll be going back to sleep now." May stole a glance at the digital clock inside the bedroom on the bedside desk. In digital numbers, it read 1:30. Dawn did the same thing.

"Yeah, I think we should go to bed now,' agreed Dawn. "Piplup, let's go back to bed."

"Piplup." So Piplup hopped of the railing and followed Dawn and May back into the bedroom, to return to their slumbers.

* * *

The morning sunlight was shining through the gaps in the curtains, blades of light flooding the bedroom, giving colour to everything it touched. One blade of light was also shining directly onto Dawn's eye, waking her up abruptly. The first thing Dawn did was open her eyes, only to have piercing bright light bounce off from her eyes; her reaction to this was to close the affected eye.

The blue haired girl sat up from the bed, and glanced towards the bed beside the one she was on. Sleeping undisturbed on that bed was her friend May. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, as if she had the sweetest dream ever.

Dawn though, all her dreams were quite the opposite of sweet. They were depressing and saddening, to Dawn at least. Also, it was always a similar dream every night. Basically, Dawn would be sitting in on top of a hill, watching the beautiful sunset with a certain someone. She would then admit her feelings to the boy, but it always ends up in rejection.

Just the thought of the recurring dream, it always brought Dawn to tears. This was because that she knew, the boy she was in love with, would almost certainly never return those feelings. The dreams, or nightmares to be more precise, no doubt spoke reality.

"Hey Dawn," a voice spoke from the doorway of the bedroom. The blue haired girl snapped out of her thinking and faced the voice.

It was Anna. Oh right...Dawn remembered now. She and May were sleeping over at Anna's, not at some pokemon center, which honestly, Dawn was more used to.

Dawn quickly wiped away the tears that were on her face before greeting back. "Hey Anna."

Anna had her eyes focused on Dawn. She knew she had been crying about something, but unlike others, decided to not ask her about it. After all, she didn't like it when others did the same to her.

Anna looked out towards the window. "It's sure a wonderful morning," she commented.

"A great morning is right," agreed Dawn.

Anna stared down and spotted May resting soundlessly on the bed. "Is she still asleep?" questioned Anna.

"Um...yeah."

Anna smiled wickedly. "Well then...we'll just have to wake her up, won't we..."

Dawn knew something like that was going to happen. It was all to obvious by her face. "Wake her up? Can't we just let her sleep in peace?" asked Dawn.

Anna paused for a bit before speaking again. "Well, we could..." She ran her hands down her long brown hair. "That is if you want her to miss out on breakfast, the most important meal of the day."

"What, it's breakfast time?!" said Dawn with much surprise. She glanced at the digital clock on the bedside desk. In digital numbers, it read 7:30. Dawn's eyelids shot up, growing instantly wider. "It's only seven-thirty! You guys actually wake up and eat breakfast this early?"

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" questioned Anna.

"I guess not..." mumbled Dawn.

"Then come on. Do all your typical morning stuff and go downstairs to eat already!" Anna spoke with a half-commanding tone.

"Ok, but what about May?"

"Oh, right...I almost forgot about her..." Anna reached for her pokemon belt and grabbed out one of the pokeballs, enlarging it in her hands.

"What are you doing?" asked Dawn as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"You'll see," giggled Anna. "Espeon, come out and assist me." She threw her pokeball. It split upon hitting the ground, releasing bright light that materialized into a pink coloured cat-like psychic type pokemon.

"Espeon?" said the psychic type in a questioning tone.

Anna bent down to the pokemon's level and brushed its fur softly. "Espeon, I need a little help with something. Is it ok?"

Espeon just nodded its head.

"Sweet! Now what I need you to do is to wake up Mrs. Sleepy Head over there." Anna pointed to the sleeping person on the bed. "Hm...with something like...Shadow Ball."

"Anna, don't you think it's a bit rude to wake her up with a pokemon move?" questioned Dawn.

"No. Not really." Anna smiled. "And besides, you're saying it's rude, yet you've done it before yourself. Ash told me about it. You did it to him."

"H-he did?" Dawn's cheeks went a deep shade of red. _Damn...why do my cheeks have to do this...we're only talking about him and I'm already blushing. Everyone's going to find out about this pretty quickly._

Espeon twisted its head and fired the ball of shadow at the sleeping May. The attack hit her directly on the face. Score!

May jolted up immediately. "What was that? What hit me?" She began to look around the room from side-to-side. The smile on Anna's face was all she needed to know the answer. "It was you, wasn't it Anna? I was sleeping really well. Why'd you have to wake me up like that?"

"May, it's breakfast time already. That's why," replied Anna.

"What, seriously? Breakfast this early?"

"Yeah."

May then leapt out of bed. "Then what are we waiting for? Come on!"

* * *

"So what are we doing today?" asked May as she stuffed a spoonful of cereal and milk into her mouth.

"Huh? What are we doing today? We're going to meet up with the others and well...we'll just hang out. Our semi-finals matches are occurring tomorrow so there's nothing else to do," replied Anna.

"That sounds cool." Dawn was just playing around with the cereal in her bowl.

May swallowed the cereal and milk in her mouth. "What's wrong Dawn? Not hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Well...I think I'll just watch some television..." Dawn stood up from her seat and pushed it back in.

As soon as she left the kitchen, May half-whispered a question to Anna. "Anna, do you know what's wrong with her? She's certainly not her cheerful self this morning."

"No, I don't," replied Anna.

**Start of Flashback**

"Hey Dawn," a voice spoke from the doorway of the bedroom. The blue haired girl snapped out of her thinking and faced the voice.

Dawn quickly wiped away the tears that were on her face before greeting back. "Hey Anna."

Anna had her eyes focused on Dawn. She knew she had been crying about something, but unlike others, decided to not ask her about it. After all, she didn't like it when others did the same to her.

**End of Flashback**

"Well at least I think I don't..."

* * *

The piercing sunlight was entering the hospital room, lightening everything up in the room. Rose, who was sleeping with her head rested on the bedside desk, woke up. She stretched her body before she looked at Jay's hospital bed, only to find it empty. Something she wasn't expecting.

_Seriously? Did that boy escape in the middle of the night again? _Rose thought. _Or did he leave the hospital early in the morning? _Rose looked down on the ground and spotted Jay's backpack leaning against the bed legs. _He didn't leave yet I'm guessing..._

It was then that Rose saw Jay enter the room through the doorway.

"Well, I see that you came back. Or maybe...you escaped at night and just returned."

"That's not the case Rose," said Jay. "I just went downstairs to eat breakfast. Oh yeah, and I also saw the nurse this morning. She said that I was good now and that I could leave the hospital. _**Finally**_!"

Rose giggled. "Nice to know."

Jay walked up to his backpack on the ground and picked it up. "Come on now Rose." The ebony haired boy wore on his backpack onto his back. "We're going to meet with the others and hang out soon. Get ready."

Rose stood up and saluted Jay like some sort of soldier under his command. "Yes sir!"

Jay couldn't help but laugh at this.

* * *

"So we're at the Striaton Gym **_again_**? Hanging out by eating _**again**_?" asked Jay as he looked at the menu in front of him.

You see, Jay didn't really feel like hanging out in a restaurant, just eating and chatting. To him, it was boring, with all the letters being capital. Yes, that's how boring it was to him. Hell he even preferred shopping!

"Yes Jay, _**again**_," said Misty, saying 'again' with pretty much the same tone as he used.

Rose began laughing. "And Jay, just make sure what happened last time doesn't happen again!"

"Don't worry, nothing like that is going to happen!" said Jay, sounding very sure.

"Good!"

Suddenly, a voice rung out to them. "Cilan, Ash, Iris and friends. You're lunches are ready."

They all turned to the voice. It was Cress, Cilan's blue haired brother, who called out to them. He was making his way past the tables, driving the food trolley safely to where his destination was.

The blue haired cook/waiter stopped the trolley once he reached the table. "Your lunches are here." Cress bowed formally. He then opened the pot lid and immediately, the scent-sational (get it :D) aroma began travelling across the air and into all their noses.

"I can already tell by the smell that this is going to be good!" said May excitedly.

"Come on Cress. Don't keep us waiting! Hurry up and serve up our food already!" said Ash impatiently.

Everyone laughed. "Typical Ash," remarked Misty. "You're still the same as you were five years ago."

Ash ignored everyone and grabbed an already filled bowl of soup. He then began to chug the bowl of soup hungrily. _Boy, it must've been hard for Iris and Cilan to conserve any food during their travels_ thought Jay with a smile. _I'm glad that wasn't me, but I guess I'll have to put up with it to from now on._

Rose placed a bowl of soup in front of Jay. "That's yours Jay. Now enjoy!"

"Whatever..."

Jay grabbed the bowl and began to drink the liquid in it as well. Slower than Ash though. After all, no one can compete against him in eating and drinking speed; he was as fast as a Snorlax at that.

* * *

**Yes, I have decided that ChessShipping will be in this story as well.**

**Also...please review. They'll be thanked :)**


	12. Kidnapped Dawn!

**I have completed another bit to the story! ****:)**

**I found this chapter a bit hard to write so...yeah...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon (if I did own Pokemon...well...I don't know. All I know is that I do not own it)**

* * *

**Previously...**

"Hilda!" he shouted back as he kept on running. "Is that you? Please don't tell me it's you!" The boy was deeply wishing that it wasn't his good friend Hilda that was in the center of trouble, despite having the exact same voice. Unfortunately, his wishing didn't come true...

"Hilbert! Help me!" Just as Hilbert feared. One hundred and one percent Hilda.

"D-don't worry, I'm coming to rescue you!" he shouted hesitantly. There was a slight problem. Actually, it was a big problem. How was he going to save Hilda? Well...there was only one thing he could try.

* * *

_Who was that...? _was all Hilbert thought.

From the cover of the bushes, a boy with ebony hair walked out to reveal himself. "Great job Lucario!" he praised to his pokemon. All it did was grin in return.

"Hey, thanks for helping me," said Hilbert kindly.

"Don't mention it!" laughed the ebony haired boy. "You seemed to be in trouble there, so I helped you out."

* * *

"My apologies for not telling my name before. I am Jay, nice to meet you. And my partner pokemon over here is Lucario." The boy used his thumb to point at his aura pokemon. It just casted them all a smile.

"Nice to meet you too Jay. I'm Hilbert and this is my Eelektross," he pointed to his elefish pokemon, who weirdly waved back. Pokemon could greet in the form of waving now? That is interesting.

"Nice to meet you Jay. I'm Hilda," she introduced.

"Well it's nice to know your names!" smiled Jay.

Just then, a voice was heard. It appeared as if it was coming from around a few trees away. "Jay!" called out the voice. "Where are you?"

Jay knew that voice anywhere. It was Rose. Probably out to find him and get him back to hospital; it wasn't Jay's time to get out of hospital yet, he still had till tomorrow before he could go. To put it simply, Rose was out to find Jay because he was not where he was supposed to be.

"Oh, look at the time. I gotta fly! I hope I see you guys again," Jay quickly waved in valediction.

"But what for? Why are you leaving in such a hurry?" The question was ignored completely as Jay sped off into the concealing night shadows of the surrounding trees.

* * *

******And now let the eleventh chapter begin!**

* * *

"Welcome back to the world championships everyone! I am your host for the Striaton preliminaries, Chili, back to give you more action from the world championships!" The crowd cheered their hearts out. Chili waited for the cheering to die down before he continued. "Today, yes today, we will be holding the semi-finals right here! Our two matches, Team Pokestars vs Team Leader Force, and Team Lunar Victory vs Team Red Explosion. Both the upcoming matches will surely bring excitement amongst us!"

The crowd began cheering once more, louder than the first time.

* * *

"So, have you already informed a tournament organizer our team order?" asked Anna as Ash approached their cafeteria table. Even only having known Ash for about a few weeks by now, Anna already knew that he tended to be easily...sidetracked. Well, at least that's what the others told her, other than Iris of course. She insisted that he was a little kid.

"Um...can you repeat the question?"

Anna sighed. "Have you already informed a tournament organizer of our team order?" she asked once again.

"Er...did I?" Ash questioned himself. He thoughtfully placed a finger on his chin and gazed up at the ceiling, trying to remember.

Anna clenched her hands into a fist. Her face went furious red. Everyone knew that this was not something good... "Grrrr! Ash, it's a simple question! It's either a yes or a no! It's that simple!" snapped Anna. Her outburst scared Ash; he jolted back a little.

Iris stepped forward from behind Anna. "Well Anna, he is a kid after all," she remarked. "You can't expect a little kid to do anything."

Anna, heavily breathing in and out, gradually calmed down from her rage. "Well...I guess your right Iris...you can't really expect a little kid to do anything..."

"I remember now!" exclaimed Ash ever so suddenly. It was Anna and Iris' turn to jolt backwards. "I did already inform an organizer of our team order!"

Anna sighed with relief. "You could've just said that before...it's really not that hard."

"Sorry...I kinda forgot until now," spoke Ash as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"So anyways, if the order you told them was the one we agreed on, Jay should be the first one to battle," mentioned Anna.

Iris began looking around the cafeteria, because she realized Jay wasn't with them now. "Where is Jay anyways?" she inquired.

"I don't know. Haven't seen him on the way here," stated Ash as he shrugged his shoulders.

Anna looked around as well, and ended up failing to find him. Great! Where was he now? His battle was coming up and he still isn't here yet? _This shows just how much he cares about the world championships _thought Anna.

The PA voice then spoke. "May the first trainers from each team head over to the battle arena now! The battle is starting in two minutes!"

"You've got to be kidding!" said Anna.

"Nah. That's Ash's job." Iris began to laugh, although she immediately stopped when Anna gave her a glare.

"Seriously! We've got to find Jay before the battle commences!" said Anna.

Just then, the cafeteria doors opened. The three of them turned their attentions to the direction. They saw Jay and Cilan enter through, chatting to each other about something they both seemed really interested in. Typical Jay, sidetracked once again.

"Jay!" Anna yelled as she stepped up in front of Jay. "You're almost late!"

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Almost late? For what? Someone's death ceremony? I'm pretty sure my schedule was free today!" Jay spoke as if he actually forgot his upcoming battle, the reason why he wasn't so pumped on battling. Anna knowing Jay, she knew that he probably did forget his upcoming battle.

Anna casted Jay a dangerous glare, as if she was trying to intimidate him. She most likely was trying to though. "Jay. If you don't make your way over to the battle arena now, we're going to be holding a death ceremony for you soon!"

Jay backed away a bit. "Whoa! Calm down Anna!" gestured Jay. "Besides, why do I need to go to the battle arena for? Am I going to be rumbling against someone?" Seriously? He still doesn't remember? How forgetful can Jay possibly get?

"Jay! Your match for the semi-finals is beginning in two minutes! If you don't make your way there now, you're going to be rumbling with me instead!" Anna said firmly, but more calmly then before.

Iris then began laughing out loud. "Yeah. You two will be rumbling in bed!" Once again, she fell dead silent as Anna gave her a glare.

"Some mind you have there..." remarked Cilan.

Anna faced Jay again. "Anyways Jay, you should just go already!" She shouted the last bit in an ordering tone. Immediately, Jay sped off to the direction of the battle arena, disappearing from view within one second flat.

"He sure is speedy..." commented Cilan. "When he wants to be."

* * *

"And so, here we are with another match beginning really soon!" announced Chili into his microphone. "Firstly, I would like to say that these teams have been performing outstandingly so far in the preliminaries! So even if one of them loses, we know that the other team did equally as good!"

The crowd began cheering loudly.

Chili continued once they were silent again. "Ah! I can smell it in the air! It's the fiery hot aroma of the semi-finals! I will introduce to you people the ones that are emitting the powerful scent!"

* * *

"Cilan. Your brother is talking like some sort of smell-obsessed aroma lady," remarked Anna.

"Eww! Chili smelt Jay..." said Ash. "I hope he doesn't smell me too when I go to battle."

"Ash, you're such a kid." Iris gave him a mocking smile. "He didn't actually smell Jay...he just said that."

"But why? It doesn't even make sense." Ash's facial expressions were all twisted, showing her that he was utterly confused.

Iris felt like facepalming herself very hard and wanted to do it really badly, but resisted the urge to. She knew that even if she explained, Ash still wouldn't get it. He was that stupid.

"Don't worry..." sighed Iris.

"Excuse me guys, but do any of you see where Rose the others are?" asked Anna as she glanced around the cafeteria. "I don't see them anywhere."

Iris just noticed this as well. Max and the other girls weren't sitting with them at the table, which was what they did last time when they watched the tournament together.

"Yeah, where are they?" asked Iris as she raised an eyebrow.

Ash looked at Anna and Cilan, to see if they knew anything. Anna showed just as much cluelessness as he did, but Cilan winked at him.

"Well..." began Cilan. Iris and Anna turned their attentions to him. "You see...the others...they..." He began uneasily fiddling around with his green bow. With Cilan's actions, Iris could already tell some sort of surprising news was to come. What she wasn't expecting though, was something very extreme.

"Well you see...the others..." Cilan sniffled once before burying his face in his hands. Iris knew that this meant bad news. Really bad news. She could already tell.

"Why are you crying for?" Iris asked.

Cilan answered, his voice very wobbly. "The others...they died...they died ok."

Iris felt like she was just punched in the gut. "They...died..." said Iris. The news shocked her completely. More than she ever thought she would be from someone other's deaths. _The others died... _

"I hoped that I wouldn't have had to say this to you guys, but I was foolish to think so. I'm sorry I haven't told you guys earlier...but I didn't want you guys to be sad." Cilan then covered his face completely by hiding it on the table, continuing to sniffle and sob.

Anna just remained silent, taking in all she just heard. "You've got to be joking..." mumbled Anna as a tear fell from her eye. If she had just heard Cilan right, that means that Rose had died...her best friend dead...she felt as though someone just ripped her heart out from her body.

All the memories of Rose flooded through her mind. How they grew up together as a child, how they were always by each other's sides when needed, how they always stuck up for each other. Many memories of her just zoomed by in her mind.

Weirdly, they heard Cilan's sniffles and sobs immediately halt. He lifted his face from his hands, a wide smile on his face.

Anna was surprised. Why would someone be happy over someone's, actually, a group of people's deaths? She thought. _Maybe he was the one that killed them..._

"W-why are you smiling like that?" asked Iris slowly.

"You see...the reason I'm smiling...is because I just fooled you girls!" Cilan's smile grew an inch wider. He seemed really proud of his 'convincing' efforts, succeeding in making Anna and Iris believe that the others died.

Anna and Iris, they couldn't believe it. They were just fooled by Cilan, the most mature one out of them all. Not in a million years, would they have seen this cruel trick coming. In fact, they wouldn't have seen it coming in a billion years. And here they thought he was not childish. Seems like they were wrong.

"You guys really fell for my convincing trick recipe! I would've expected the task to bit harder, but it seems as though I overestimated you guys." Cilan dusted both his hands together smugly. "Did you two enjoy that?"

Anna flared up inside. She was angry. Really angry. The flames that were in her insides were burning bright and irate. So hot that even the legendary Kyurem would melt before her. _How dare someone pull such a mean trick on me! _she thought.

"Damn you Cilan! You totally fooled me! You actually made me think that the others were dead!" yelled Anna. This attracted the attentions of every single stranger currently in the cafeteria. Yeah, things like this always does.

Cilan smirked. "That was the point of the recipe." He proudly adjusted his green bow. "I even gave it so much spice, it made you cry. I never expected such a reaction coming from you."

"Grrr!" Anna hammered the table angrily with her fists. The table vibrated violently, tossing off all the drinks that were on top. Thanks to that, now the floor was full of spilt soft drink and littered with plastic cups.

Cilan attempted to curl himself up on his seat. "Aren't you going to clean that up?" he squeaked as he pointed at the ground.

Anna got up from her seat and placed a palm on her fist. "I'm going to clean it up after I'm done with you! I'm a black belt in karate you know!" She cracked her fingers loudly. All Cilan did was stare and gulp fearfully.

Iris began laughing. "Ha! After she's done with Cilan! I wonder what they're going to do?!" Iris fell backwards from her chair, but instead of moaning in pain, she continued to laugh, ignoring what the wet ground was doing to her clothes.

"Ok..." Ash looked as though he just saw a freak. Wait...he did. Ash averted his attention away from the scene and went back to watching the screen.

* * *

"Alright, on the right side of me, we have our first Team Pokestars representative, it's our very own Jay!" announced Chili.

On cue, Jay stepped into the battle arena, waving to the crowd as they cheered. He walked up to his spot on the battlefield and pulled off a confident stance, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

"Being a little confident there Jay!" yelled a voice from the crowd. Despite the crowd's cheers mixing in with the voice, Jay recognized it immediately, turning around to see the person. Just as he expected, it was the all-familiar red head. "You can be confident, as long as you're not being overconfident!"

Jay gave a light chuckle before replying back. "Don't worry Misty, I won't be overconfident."

The girl seated beside Misty stood up from her seat, leaned forwards and shouted, "Jay, you _**are**_ acting a bit overconfident! Just look at the way your standing right now!"

Jay stared down at his crossed arms and then stared at the girl. The ebony haired boy just realized who that was. "Rose? You're watching from there as well?" He raised an eyebrow as he asked the question.

"It's not just her you know," piped up a voice from the other side of Misty.

Jay turned to the person. "Dawn? You too?" His eyes then drifted off to the seat beside her. Another familiar person. "And May?"

"Yeah! We're all here to cheer you on!" the brown haired girl shouted out above the noise.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" hollered the person on the seat beside May.

"Max? You too? Just how many of you guys are cheering me on from the stands?"

Rose stood up from her seat and counted. "It's just us five."

"Er...you realize that question was kinda rhetorical right?"

"And our other competitor!" Chili's voice silenced the crowd and drew Jay's attention away from his friends and to Chili himself. "Our other competitor," the red haired host repeated. "She is a well known woman from our neighboring town Nacrene City. She's smart, she's talented, and she's also the gym leader of the aforementioned place! Welcome to the semi-finals stage, the normal type warrior herself, Lenora!"

The crowd erupted in roaring cheers, comparable to the deafening sound of an actual erupting volcano.

A woman stepped out onto the field and waved to the crowd as she made her way to her position on the battlefield.

"Lenora! Lenora! Lenora! Lenora!" the whole crowd chanted.

"Jay is facing off against a gym leader! He might not win!" spoke Rose.

"Well Rose, just because he's facing off against a gym leader, doesn't mean that he's going to lose!" commented Max. "Like us, we had a gym leader on our team." He pointed a finger at the red hair girl. "And we still lost."

Unfortunately for Max, the pointing was somehow spotted by Misty. Well it wasn't that hard, Max wasn't doing it discreetly. "Hey! What are you talking about? It doesn't count because I didn't even get a chance to battle!"

The host's sudden voice cut off any chances of an argument. "Ladies and gentleman! I will now hand over to the referee to start off what is expected to be an explosive match!" Chili put down his microphone, but quickly picked it back up. "Literally!" He added to it.

"Now, may both challengers please send in their first pokemon!" requested the ref.

"Lenora, you may go first!" said Jay with a smirk. An obvious sign of confidence.

"Hey, I think I know you! You're Jay aren't you?" smiled Lenora. "I knew I recognized your face from somewhere. I still remember your little gym challenge against me like it was yesterday." She then reached for her pokemon belt and grabbed out a pokeball. "Anyways, since we're battling here today, I might as well take my revenge." The normal type gym leader smirked with a little hint of playfulness.

"Yeah, like that'll happen!" Jay's smirk grew even wider.

"Ha! Always sure of your own skills! It's one of the things I like about you!" The pokeball she had in her hands enlarged. "Enough talking though, I think we should start our battle. What do you say?"

"It sounds perfect to me!" responded Jay.

Lenora smiled. "Come out Stoutland!" She tossed the ball onto the battlefield. It split upon contact with the ground, releasing bright light that materialized into a big brown dog-like pokemon with a long white mustache growing from its face and two different shades of blue thick fur coating its giant body.

"Stoutland!" growled the normal type. The face it had on, the pokemon was definitely prepared for a battle.

"I thought you'd go for a Stoutland first!" grinned Jay. He grabbed out a pokeball and it enlarged in his hands. "Well Lenora, you revenge won't be fulfilled! I beat all your pokemon with just this one!"

With the pokeball in his hands, Jay prepared to pitch the ball in like a baseball pitcher. "Lucario, let's do this thing!" The boy even threw in the pokeball like a baseball player. The red and white sphere split upon contact and released bright light. The light hit the ground and materialized into his partner pokemon.

"Are you ready for this Lucario?" asked Jay. All the aura pokemon did was bow his head in response. That was all the ebony haired boy needed to know.

"Ok! This will be a three on three pokemon battle between pokemon trainer Jay, and gym leader Lenora. Each person can substitute their pokemon anytime and to win the battle, all the opponent's pokemon must be unable to battle. Is that clear?"

Jay and Lenora both nodded at the same time.

"Alright then! The battle shall now begin!" the referee announced.

Jay started off as fast as he possibly could. "Lucario, Aura Sphere!"

The aura pokemon complied by placing its two paws close together and forming a ball of blue aura in between them.

"Stoutland, use Roar!"

* * *

"Oh no! Not this tactic again!" exclaimed Ash. Having battled Lenora in the past, Ash has been the victim of her famous tactic before, and even lost to it once. Now that he has seen it being executed once again, Ash feared that the battle was going to be lost.

"That stupid Jay! Didn't he say he gathered eight badges around Unova as well? If so, he would've battled Lenora already in the past! He should've already seen this trick coming!" shouted Iris irritatedly.

Cilan just remained silent and pondered about things. "Hm..."

* * *

Stoutland became outlines by red energy. It took a deep breath and let out a huge, forceful, resonant roar for the whole arena to hear. The powerful sound waves that emitted from the big-hearted pokemon's mouth travelled through the air and affected its opponent Lucario. The aura pokemon was forced back into its pokeball, and different pokemon was dragged out from another pokeball.

The pokemon that had just entered the battlefield, it was a chandelier-like pokemon with yellow eerie eyes and purple flames burning from various places.

"A Chandelure huh?" Lenora then glanced at Jay, and saw a small smirk on his face. She didn't expect that. _Now why would Jay be smirking for...?_

Chandelure, who has just suddenly realized that it was on a battlefield, began to scan the area cautiously. Jay just chuckled. "Don't worry Chandelure, there are no incoming attacks for you." He then looked towards Lenora, and met her smug gaze with his own. _Let's see how she'll deal with a ghost type!_

"It seems as though I'm up against a ghost type now!" mentioned the normal type gym leader. "I know very well that normal type attacks won't work against it so...Stoutland, use Shadow Ball!"

The big-hearted pokemon opened its mouth wide and four orbs of shadow formed in a formation similar to the side representing four in a die.

"Wah! Watch out Chandelure! Dodge the attack!" Jay ordered hastily.

Chandelure kept its entire focus on the four orbs of shadow as they were launched towards him like round missiles. The ghost type attacks were closing into Chandelure quick, every second being about ten metres closer.

The luring pokemon zoomed to the side just before the attack even touched it, meaning that his dodge was a success. Now with the opponent's attack gone, the pokemon wanted to strike back, and as if Jay was a psychic, he commanded it. Well...Jay wasn't really a defensive battler, so the attack order was bound to have been called anyways.

"Chandelure, lets him them back with Flamethrower!" the ebony haired boy commanded.

The luring pokemon complied with the orders. Its body became engulfed by its own fiery flames and fired some of the hot combustive stuff towards Stoutland, its opponent.

"Stoutland, use Protect!" ordered Lenora.

Stoutland tucked its head down a little, and with its powers, formed a magical bluish-green semi-spherical barrier around itself to intercept the attack. When the attack came, the protection Stoutland formed did just that, repelling away the powerful flame attack so it wouldn't take any damage.

The flames soon stopped coming, and the barrier disappeared. Lenora just smiled to herself, knowing that it was her efforts and her intense training with her pokemon that made the successful defense possible.

"Now Stoutland, let's go on the offensive again! Use Thunder Fang!"

And with that, her normal type took off like a rocket. It had its mouth opened real wide and it was seen that the fangs that were in there were shrouded by yellow electricity. The attack would no doubt be majorly damage inflicting, _**if it landed that is! **_Jay was going to make sure that wasn't going to happen.

"Chandelure, use Double Team!" the boy ordered.

The ghost and fire type flashed white and began creating numerous copies of itself in a wide circle formation. As soon as Stoutland realized, it was already surrounded by the army of Chandelures. It dropped its attack straight away and just stood there, not knowing what to do next.

"Now Chandelure, use Flamethrower!"

Every single copy of Chandelure engulfed themselves in their own fiery flames, and then they all fired the flames straight at their target, who was all alone in the middle with no way out.

"Stoutland!" shouted Lenora with worry.

Her pokemon became swallowed up by a barrage of fire attacks from every horizontal direction. The flames just looked so intense, there was no way on Earth Stoutland would be able to get out not fainted. Or it'll at least sustain massive damage. Lenora was hoping for the second one. _Come on Stoutland...please don't be done yet..._

The fire attacks soon halted, and what was left revealed in the center of the battlefield was good news. Well, at least for the gym leader Lenora it was. Despite the damage it had obviously taken, Stoutland was still standing with its own four legs. The pokemon looked weak, but really determined to win.

Any other ordinary pokemon would've been already down on the ground with swirls for eyes, all limp and defeated. But Lenora's Stoutland, it was different. Having been raised by the impressive normal type specialist, Stoutland learnt to endure many harsh attacks being dished out by others. In fact, it was one of the areas Lenora put the most work and effort into.

"Stoutland!" Lenora called out. "Can you still go on?" She asked the question just to make sure that the pokemon could still continue battling. After all, she knew that pushing pokemon too hard could be bad. But doesn't everyone know that? Well...certain people don't.

"Stoutland!" growled the big-hearted pokemon. Its voice sounded like a mix between a struggling one, while also being a determined one. Lenora decided to think hard about the battle. _Should Stoutland stay in battle, or should I sub it out? _Her mind was really undecided.

"Chandelure, let's finish Stoutland off! Use Flamethrower full power!" shouted Jay.

It was then that a wicked feminine laugh rung through the arena.

"Who was that?" asked Jay as he glanced from side-to-side around the vast arena.

"Look! Up above!" shouted someone from the crowd. And that's just what everyone did, even the broadcasting camera was faced upwards to see what it was.

There they were, two people with 'R' on their shirts and a Meowth flying on jetpacks overhead. All it took was a second of looking at them and Jay already recognized who they were. The same villains who had attempted to steal his Lucario several times in the past. He could never forget the faces.

"Team Rocket!" Misty stood up and gazed at them with angry eyes.

The three up above looked down at her. "Hey twerpette! Listen up! We're not called Team Rocket anymore you hear?! Our boss disbanded that organization a couple of years ago, and because of that, we joined a new and better organization!" spoke the magenta haired woman of the trio.

"Then why do you still have those silly Team Rocket uniforms then?" asked Misty with a raised eyebrow.

A grin formed on each of the trio's faces. "Well you see," began the lavender haired man of the trio. "They're just there to cover our current uniforms. We were informed by our boss that no one is to find out the name of the organization. Not now at least."

"And because of that," the Meowth with the ability to talk piped up. "We cannot recite our new motto."

"Whew, lucky us!" spoke Rose as she brushed her forehead with the back of her fingers, as if removing sweat.

"Whatever! We just came to fulfill our mission anyways!" spoke the magenta haired trio member.

"What mission?!" came a voice from behind. Everyone present turned their heads around and spotted Ash standing with his Pikachu at the entrance to the battlefield, the one that Jay went through earlier.

"Are you back to get my Pikachu? Because if you are, well you're not going to have such chance!"

"Pika!" The mouse pokemon sparked up its checks threateningly.

"No way!" spat Meowth. "We're not here to get your Pikachu! We're here for somethin' else!"

"What are you after then?" questioned Ash with a raised eyebrow.

Jay spoke up. "Hey! You know what? I'm just going to blast them off! Whatever they're here for is probably not good anyways! That's all they ever do!"

He then gave an order to his ghost and fire type. "Chandelure, hit them with Shadow Ball! Make them go away!"

The luring pokemon focused its power in front of itself to form an orb of darkness. After that, it fired the attack straight towards the airborne trio.

They three in the air dodged the attack with ease. "Hah! An attack like that won't get us!" said the magenta haired woman.

"Yeah! You need to try harder!" said the lavender haired man.

"Alright! I think we've had enough time muckin' around already! We'll just do what we came here to do!" spoke the Meowth. It pulled out a remote seemingly out of nowhere. "Now prepare to be captured!"

Meowth pointed the remote to a random member of the crowd, and was just about to hit the button but was stopped by a voice.

"Wait!" spoke the lavender haired man with a loud whisper. The Meowth froze, and then turned to the man.

"What is it James?" the pokemon whispered back.

"Aren't we meant to capture one of the twerps? That's the reason we came here was it not?"

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" The Meowth redirected the remote and was now pointing it at Dawn.

Jay looked closely at where the remote was pointed, and gasped when he realized who the target was. "Watch out Dawn!" the ebony haired boy shouted at the top of his lungs. It was also at that moment that Meowth hit the button on the remote. A net began speeding down towards the intended target.

Dawn grew wide-eyed when she finally realized the net coming at her. By this time though, it was to late to do anything.

The net wrapped around Dawn, and left her helpless and trapped inside it.

"Oh no Dawn!" shouted Ash.

"Dawn!" shouted Misty, May and Rose at the same time. They all gathered around the restricting net and began to try and break Dawn out.

"Ha! And now all we need to do is to grab her!" said James.

"And I've got just the thing!" Meowth grabbed out another remote out of seemingly nowhere, and immediately pressed the giant red button on it.

A powerful 'BOOM!' was heard and the ground began shaking wildly. Everyone on the ground felt the effects of it, some also losing their balances and falling onto the ground.

James swiftly zoomed down to where the netted Dawn was. He took a hold of the net, and then carried it back up to where his other two allies were.

"Let me go you clowns!" Dawn was inside the net, wriggling about to try and free herself from it. It was failing so far.

The magenta haired woman gave her wicked laugh once again.

"Now people! Since we did what we came here to do, we'll be leavin' now!" spoke Meowth.

The villainous trio, with Dawn captured in their net, flew out from the stadium and disappeared from view, going south. "Hey, wait up!" Ash stood up from the ground and grabbed a pokeball from his pokemon belt. It enlarged in his hands.

"Alright Staraptor, I need your help now!" The raven-haired boy threw his pokeball into the air and it split, releasing light that materialized into a mainly grey coloured bird pokemon.

It spread out its wings and cried, "Staraptor!"

"Now Staraptor, I'll need you and Pikachu to follow Jessie, James and Meowth! Can you do that?"

Staraptor flew down and Pikachu leapt onto its back. "Pika/Staraptor!" cried the two pokemon. So then Staraptor, with Pikachu sitting on its back, flew off the direction the ex-Team Rocket members went.

_Pikachu...Staraptor...I'm counting on you two..._

* * *

**Surprising turn of events? Just a random track switch I threw in to try and make the story less predictable :D**

**I think there are some bits in this chapter that could've been written better...so yeah...I might go back and redo this chapter...**

**Reviews anybody? They will be appreciated :)**

**One more thing...if anyone thinks that I have not written a part in this story well enough, do not hesitate to inform me. I will go back and try to improve them.**


	13. Operation Rescue Dawn Pt 1!

**Another chapter finished! I feel that I could've done better, but I'll let you guys be the judges of that :D**

**I'll also say that most of the romance bits will appear more towards the end of the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

"So anyways, if the order you told them was the one we agreed on, Jay should be the first one to battle," mentioned Anna.

Iris began looking around the cafeteria, because she realized Jay wasn't with them now. "Where is Jay anyways?" she inquired.

"I don't know. Haven't seen him on the way here," stated Ash as he shrugged his shoulders.

Anna looked around as well, and ended up failing to find him. Great! Where was he now? His battle was coming up and he still isn't here yet? _This shows just how much he cares about the world championships _thought Anna.

* * *

"You guys really fell for my convincing trick recipe! I would've expected the task to bit harder, but it seems as though I overestimated you guys." Cilan dusted both his hands together smugly. "Did you two enjoy that?"

Anna flared up inside. She was angry. Really angry. The flames that were in her insides were burning bright and irate. So hot that even the legendary Kyurem would melt before her. _How dare someone pull such a mean trick on me! _she thought.

"Damn you Cilan! You totally fooled me! You actually made me think that the others were dead!" yelled Anna. This attracted the attentions of every single stranger currently in the cafeteria. Yeah, things like this always does.

Cilan smirked. "That was the point of the recipe." He proudly adjusted his green bow. "I even gave it so much spice, it made you cry. I never expected such a reaction coming from you."

* * *

"Let me go you clowns!" Dawn was inside the net, wriggling about to try and free herself from it. It was failing so far.

The magenta haired woman gave her wicked laugh once again.

"Now people! Since we did what we came here to do, we'll be leavin' now!" spoke Meowth.

The villainous trio, with Dawn captured in their net, flew out from the stadium and disappeared from view, going south. "Hey, wait up!" Ash stood up from the ground and grabbed a pokeball from his pokemon belt. It enlarged in his hands.

"Alright Staraptor, I need your help now!" The raven-haired boy threw his pokeball into the air and it split, releasing light that materialized into a mainly grey coloured bird pokemon.

It spread out its wings and cried, "Staraptor!"

"Now Staraptor, I'll need you and Pikachu to follow Jessie, James and Meowth! Can you do that?"

Staraptor flew down and Pikachu leapt onto its back. "Pika/Staraptor!" cried the two pokemon. So then Staraptor, with Pikachu sitting on its back, flew off the direction the ex-Team Rocket members went.

_Pikachu...Staraptor...I'm counting on you two..._

* * *

**And now let the twelfth chapter begin!**

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth were soaring through the air as they rode on their jetpacks, with Dawn inside a net that was being carried like some sort of sack.

"Let me out you three! Let me out now!" growled Dawn as she was thrashing about inside the net she was trapped inside. She has been doing so for about the last ten minutes, but to no avail. "If I had my pokeballs, you guys would already be on the ground begging for mercy!"

It was then that Meowth's face popped up from out of nowhere in Dawn's line of sight. "That's why we took your pokeballs! See?" The cat held out both its paws, and revealed to Dawn her six pokeballs, three on each.

"Grrr! Give me!" Dawn thrust her arms forward, but the net was in the way, preventing her from grabbing her pokeballs.

Meowth laughed. "Ha! You can't get 'em, can you?" taunted Meowth as he waved the palms of pokeballs in front of the net. One pokeball Dawn had her eye on was dangerously on the edge of the cat's palm. She feared the worst.

Jessie also caught sight on what Meowth was doing. "Meowth! Stop that!" she told roughly. "You might drop those pokeballs!"

Meowth received quiet a scare. He jerked his arms up and the pokeballs went flying out of his hands and up into the air. Fortunately though, Meowth quickly caught every single pokeball. They were in Meowth's not-so-safe hands once again.

"Yeah Meowth! You might drop those pokeballs!" repeated Dawn, sounding as irritating as possible with a face to match.

"Hey! Zip it twoipette! Before I actually drop dese pokeballs!" threatened Meowth. The scratch cat pokemon, wondering how far the ground actually was, stared down below. They were flying high above a deep, dark, giant, seemingly never-ending rocky trench that was directly underneath. The cat gulped. "And you'll probably never see them again once I do so," he squeaked.

"Meowth!" snapped Jessie. "Stop it already! We need those pokeballs!"

"Whoa! Calm down Jess, I wasn't actually goin' to do anyt'in'!" said Meowth coolly.

"You better have not!" shouted Dawn. Her sudden shout surprised Meowth so much; it almost scared him out of his soul, and almost made his drop the pokeballs again.

"Hey twoipette! How dare you scare me like dat!" He pointed a paw directly at her face.

"Well Meowth, its not my fault that your so easily scared!" Dawn spoke teasingly.

James didn't pay any attention to anything that was going on around him. He was just enjoying the flying. The nice and strong breeze blowing against his face, the beautiful and vast landscape below, and the thrill of doing it because no normal person could.

"Ah! Just as if I was a bird!" breathed James happily. It was at that moment that he remembered they weren't just on a joyride. They were in the middle of a mission.

He took a glance backwards to see if anyone was tailing behind them, but all he saw were the peaceful empty blue skies. A good sign.

"Hey guys, I think we might actually finish successfully in our mission," spoke James.

Meowth never heard James because he was in the middle of a verbal fight with Dawn, and they were being pretty loud.

"James, you know that-" The squabbling voices of Meowth and Dawn abruptly grew louder, cutting off Jessie from continuing. Of course,

"Meowth! Can you just be quiet?! I'm trying to say something!" The magenta haired woman then faced Dawn. "And you too twerpette! Be quiet!" The two that were fighting stopped doing so immediately.

"Much better!" Jessie dusted her hands. "Anyways..." She faced James again. "James, you know that there is no such thing as 'might', right? We will finish this mission successfully! We cannot fail! Failure is definitely not an option!"

"Yes...I know..." James glanced back once more, to be absolutely sure that no one was following them. It was pretty much the same sight as before. Just the empty blue skies...and a bird incoming from a far distance.

"Hey Jessie, I would think that the twerps would be right behind us by now, but they're not...don't you think it's a bit weird?"

"James! Why on Earth would you be thinking of things like that? It's almost like you want us to fail."

"No, it's not that...I just think it's a bit weird..."

Silence followed, everyone just had their eyes laid on the blue skies up ahead, waiting for something to pop-up in the horizon.

A minute or so passed, and in the horizon up ahead, something appeared. Looking more closely, it was found out to be a huge white coloured building with an orange flag attached to it on the roof.

"Hey! Jessie, Meowth, it seems as though we've finally made it to the base! And without any troubles too!"

Jessie gave her annoying laugh. "That was easy!"

"Yeah! If things keep goin' our way like dis, we'll accomplish da mission easy!" added Meowth.

* * *

Following the unsuspecting trio and Dawn from a distance, were Ash's Staraptor and Pikachu, the latter riding on top of the former.

"Pika pika!" spoke Pikachu.

"Staraptor?" questioned Staraptor confusedly.

"Pika pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu stood up on two legs and pointed its paw at the distance ahead.

Staraptor did just that, and spotted a huge white building up ahead.

"Staraptor!"

"Ka chu! Pika ka chu!" Pikachu pointed again, only this time, it was at the orange flag waving proudly with the wind on top of the building.

"Staraptor!" the bird nodded.

"Pi pikachu!" The mouse pokemon pointed once again, at the trio with Dawn, flying into the front entrance of the building. It wanted Staraptor to fly faster.

"Staraptor!" it nodded. And with that, the predator pokemon sped up its flight.

* * *

Ash and the others were in one of the many conference rooms located in Striaton's main stadium building. They were discussing about the event that occurred right in front of their eyes just before.

"Aww man! It's my fault Dawn got captured!" said Ash as he hammered the table with his fist, causing it to vibrate greatly. The boy was obviously mad at himself.

It was not the first time though. It has happened many times in the past. Whenever something awful happened to his friends, he always blamed it on himself. He would go on about how it was all his fault and that the situation would've been avoided altogether if he wasn't there. Ash's friends had always wondered why Ash's liked to take the blame, especially when he was usually the only one trying to help in the situation.

"If only I didn't threaten them! Dawn wouldn't be in this mess!" continued Ash. "It's all my fault!" He hammered the table with his rock-hard fist once more, making it shake as if an actual hammer hit it.

"No Ash, it's not your fault," said Jay. "It was my fault. I was the one that actually tried to attack them, and it because of that that Dawn was captured." It was obvious that Jay was trying to take the blame himself. He wanted to take it as much as Ash did. Jay was quite similar to Ash in that way.

"No guys! You two are both wrong!" said Misty firmly. "It's none of your faults! You two have to know that!" She gave both of the boys a serious look, suggesting that she was...well...serious.

"Yeah. Stop blaming yourselves. It's none of your faults that Dawn's kidnapped. They would've got someone anyways, even if both of you weren't there," said May.

Both Ash and Jay dropped their heads down miserably. "I guess you're correct..." mumbled Jay, his voice barely audible. It was as if he was disappointed that he wasn't blamed on.

May, being one seat next to him, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jay, you have to _**know**_ I'm correct." She casted him a sweet and pleasant smile. Obviously trying to cheer him up.

Jay playfully sighed. "Fine then. I _**know**_ you're correct. Happy now?"

May's smiled grew wider. "Very."

"So if it's not my fault...and if it's not Jay's fault...then whose fault is it?" asked Ash as he raised an eyebrow.

Misty began to laugh heartily. "Oh Ash, it's nobody's fault. Not every problem has someone in fault you know?"

"Huh? But I always thought it was someone's fault when something bad happens?" Ash was in a very confused state.

"Well...in that case, that means that what you always thought is wrong."

"Yeah, and also, by 'someone's' fault, we all know you're referring to yourself!" said May as she pointed a finger at him.

Rose giggled. "Well it's not just him May," she spoke as she glared at the ebony haired boy. "Jay has the exact same habit."

Jay froze like a statue for a bit, but then proceeded to rubbing the back of his sheepishly. "Yeah. I guess I just have this weird habit of wanting to take the blame all the time."

"Well kids. Now that you've figured out whose fault it is, what do we do?" asked Lenora. It was the first time any of the gym leaders sitting in the other side of the room (Lenora, Burgh and Cress) spoke since the beginning of the conference. Since they also witnessed what happened, Lenora and her team decided to come and discuss about it as well.

"Hm..." Cilan engaged himself in deep thinking. "What should we do...? I mean, there's nothing we can really do if we don't know where they headed off to with Dawn."

"You're right Cilan. There is nothing we can do..." said Anna, sighing.

"Well people, maybe if we thought hard enough, we might come up with something," uttered Burgh, who was laid back on his seat with his arms crossed.

No one in the room had any better ideas, so they just settled with Burgh's. Everyone leaned in on their seats and went into pondering mode, being silent, trying hard to think of what next action would be best to take.

During the quiet thinking time, Cilan took a glance around the room. From just observing briefly, he could tell that everyone was deep in thought. Even Ash was pondering hard, and he usually never even considered doing such thing. It just showed how much Ash cared about Dawn. Or maybe because he felt it was his fault. Probably a little of both.

Cilan randomly glanced out through the shiny, transparent window, and focused his eyes on the giant battle arena out there. "Hm..." Cilan tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

And just like that, an idea struck his intelligent brain. He thought that maybe looking out at the battle arena, something there would help or give some clue. Something the villains might have left behind to help with the current situation. Maybe some sort of lead or something. That was what Cilan was hoping to find at least.

So with his idea in mind, Cilan stood up and slowly strode across to the window to prevent pulling anyone away from thinking.

Once Cilan came up to the window, he inspected the area below. The man stared carefully at the various different places of the arena, trying to find some sort of thing.

Ash couldn't think of a good idea, so he decided to remove himself from thinking. Looking up, he saw Cilan looking out at the battle arena. Searching for something by the looks of it, but knowing that it was Cilan, almost anything could be on his mind.

"Hey Cilan, why are you starin' out the window for?" he asked as he briefly scratched his head. As usual, the boy's couldn't help but be curious, especially at a time like this.

Cilan turned his head away from the view below and looked at Ash. Having had his focus on the battle arena outside, he didn't pay attention to what Ash said. "What was that you asked?"

"Sorry for buggin' ya Cilan, but I was just wondering why you were staring out the window for."

"Well Ash..." Cilan turned his gaze back out the window. "I'm thinking that something out there in the battle arena could give us some leads. You know, Jessie, James and Meowth might've left something behind."

"Oh...I see..." spoke Ash as he lightly nodded his head in understanding.

Cilan brought his focus back onto the battle arena below. He scanned the crowd seats, intent on finding something. He ended up finding nothing. Cilan then proceeded to scanning the battlefield. From left to right, he carefully scanned it. He just ended up finding another bunch of nothing.

Cilan was really beginning to lose hope on his idea, but being the optimistic type of person he is, the green haired man decided to search just once more.

So once again, Cilan scanned the seats of the stadium, making sure not to miss any single seat. The results were the same as the first time: nothing. Cilan then proceeded to scanning the battlefield once more. His eyes searched the place ever so slowly, as if he was on the look out for something that his life depended on.

A quick flash of a red light hit Cilan directly on the left eye, making him place his hand in front of his eye as shield. _What was that?! _He put down his arms and stared closely at the center of the battlefield.

There, Cilan spotted an item he didn't realize earlier. It was a black circular digital device, with a green screen on the center. Some sort of long antenna was also attached to the top of the device, the small bulb on the tip flashing red every few seconds. Cilan immediately became aware that it was the thing that flashed red onto his eye. The green haired man had never been more sure in his life.

"That's it!" cried Cilan excitedly. His loud voice snapped everyone else out of thinking and made them all look at him.

"What's it?" asked Iris curiously.

"Come everyone! Come with me out onto the battlefield!" beckoned Cilan. He left the room as fast as lightning, leaving everyone behind staring at each other with confusion.

"Why is Cilan like that all of a sudden?" asked Ash, baffled.

"I don't know," replied Iris, just as clueless. "But I guess we should follow him anyways. That way, we'll get to see why he's being so much Jay."

Iris spoke loud enough for Jay to hear. She was never really a soft speaker, always having a voice half as loud as a Loudred. "Hey! I heard that!" the ebony haired boy shouted from the other side of the table.

Anna got up from her seat. "Come on people, we should just follow Cilan already!" she gestured.

* * *

"So why have you called us out here dear brother?" asked Cress as they all joined Cilan on the center of the battlefield. The green haired man had his front faced towards them and his arms behind his back. He hiding something from their sights no doubt, waiting for them all to gather before revealing it.

"Hey Cilan, are you hiding something behind your back?" asked Ash. A pretty stupid question he asked too, wasn't it that obvious? Everyone else found it so, other than Ash that is.

"Well no duh!" said Iris as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well it wasn't for Ash.

"What do you mean 'no duh'?! What if he's not hiding something Iris? Haven't you stopped to think of that?" spat back Ash.

To stop a fight from breaking out, Cilan decided to speak. "Actually Ash, I am hiding something behind my back."

"Huh? Really?" Ash scratched his head in a perplexed manner.

"Ha!" Iris stuck out her tongue mockingly at Ash. Poor him, always the victim of Iris' teasing...

"So can you show us what the thing is?" questioned Burgh of the Castelia Gym.

"Yes. Of course I will." Cilan removed his hands from his back and held it open in front of himself.

Everyone gathered closer around Cilan, staring in awe at the device that was on his palm. It was unlike anything they've ever seen before, very unfamiliar to them also.

"What is this thing?" asked Anna, still having her eyes on the item.

"Well Anna, it's a radar," replied Cilan.

"An awesome radar too," added Jay.

While everyone had their eyes on the thing, they realized a red dot on the screen. Being the curious person he normally is, Ash asked, "Hey Cilan, do you know what that red dot is?"

Cilan was confused. He had not seen a red dot. "Ash, may I ask you where this red dot is-" The red dot on the green screen was finally noticed by the green haired man. "Oh...that red dot..."

"So do you know what the red dot is?" Ash raised an eyebrow. He was expecting an answer.

"Well..." Not knowing what the dot could mean, Cilan went into pondering mode to try and figure it out. _Now what could that red dot be? Could it be...wait...no...it can't be...maybe...wait...no...it can't be that either...I'm not really sure what it could be..._

* * *

"Staraptor!" the predator pokemon cried.

The two pokemon weren't far from the open entrance now. Just a little bit more and they would be inside.

"Pikachu!" the mouse pokemon said. It wanted Staraptor to go even faster. Of course, there was no need but Pikachu just wanted to get in quicker.

"Staraptor!" The predator pokemon felt as if it couldn't meet Pikachu's demand and go faster, but nonetheless it still tried.

All seemed to be going well. Pikachu and Staraptor looked as if they were going to make it inside the building. But then suddenly, a wall of steel began coming down, slowly closing off the entrance.

This surprised Pikachu "Pika!" it gasped. It was worried that they weren't going to make it now. And having come this far, as well as being counted on by his trainer, Pikachu didn't want to fail now. Well, it never wanted to anyways.

"Pika pi?" questioned Pikachu. It wanted to know if Staraptor could fly any faster. Pikachu knew that if it didn't, they wouldn't be able to make it inside.

"Staraptor!" replied Staraptor, a little irritated. This told the mouse pokemon that it couldn't fly any faster than it was already. Pikachu has told Staraptor to speed up twice already, so it was understandable.

The two pokemon were getting extremely close to the entrance, at the same time, the steel wall was pretty close to fully blocking the entrance as well.

"Pika..." The mouse pokemon hoped with all it had that they would make it through.

"Star..." The predator pokemon was doing the same thing.

All there was was a small gap left of the entrance.

"Pika..."

The steel wall was coming down, more, and more, and more...until it fully closed.

"Pikachu..." the yellow mouse mumbled disappointedly. Now knowing that the entrance was sealed off, how was the duo going to get in now? A lot was going through Pikachu's mind. He didn't notice that they were flying straight to the steel wall.

"Staraptor!" the predator pokemon squawked alarmingly. It couldn't stop itself from flying straight towards it, because it was flying too fast.

The cry from the Staraptor snapped Pikachu out of his thoughts, and made him aware that they were heading straight for the steel wall.

Pikachu's eyes grew wide. It could see that pain was coming their way. "Pikaaaa!"

CCLLLAAAANNNNNGGGGGG! Staraptor had gone head first onto the steel. No one needed to experience that to know how excruciatingly painful the collision was for the predator pokemon.

On the other hand, Pikachu was less hurt, but what it went through was pretty unpleasant too. After Staraptor collided, Pikachu was sent blasting forwards, the whole front-side of Pikachu's small body crashing onto the hard material.

The two pokemon were lying limp on the ground, the pain still coursing through their bodies.

"Pika chu..." The mouse pokemon tried to lift itself back off the ground, but ended up plumping back down onto the hard Earth.

"Staraptor..." The predator pokemon tried to get up as well, but failed just like Pikachu. It just showed how much pain they were in.

Just then, Pikachu's ears perked up. This showed that it had heard something nearby.

"Pika..." Pikachu cried, really weak.

"Staraptor...?" Staraptor questioned just as weakly.

"Ahah! Now what do we have here?" came a voice from nearby. It sounded more like a purr than anything. Usually not good news...

The person who spoke walked out from behind the bushes and revealed himself to the two pokemon.

The man was pretty tall. He wore a long pitch-black cape with a hood that reached almost to his ankles, which concealed just about his whole body. The only thing that was revealed was the smile that was on his face. A wicked smile to be precise. The two pokemon didn't need to know anything else to realize that he was bad news.

The man crossed his arms. "I see two pokemon. Am I right?" How the man was acting made Pikachu really boil up inside. If it were not hurt from slamming onto the metal, it would already be zapping the man with Thunderbolt.

"Pika..." was all Pikachu managed to say.

The man bent down and patted Pikachu on the head, in between its two pointy ears. The mouse pokemon had to admit that it actually liked the petting. The gentle way he did it, it almost felt like Ash was the one doing it...

"Well now...are you pokemon hurt? Because you know, I can take away the pain if you want?" The man spoke as nicely as he could. The gentleness, Pikachu felt like it could trust the man now. He wasn't doing anything bad, so Pikachu saw no reason not to trust him.

"Pika..." replied the mouse pokemon weakly. Pikachu decided to fully place his trust on the man. Maybe he wasn't as bad as they thought after all...

"I take that as a yes then..." A huge smile grew on the man's face as he petted Pikachu a little more. "So now..." The man withdrew his hands and felt around for something behind him.

"Pika...?"

The man pulled out a trash bag and opened it. Pikachu's eyes widened as it stared at the bag. The man _**was**_ a bad guy. Pikachu was wrong to place its trust on such a man. Maybe looks are not that deceiving after all...

The man let out a soft, but evil laugh. "Now little critter, you'll be taking a short ride on the bag...make sure you stay put in there..." So with one hand, the man shoved Pikachu roughly into the trash bag, and closed it off by squeezing the opening hole.

"Pika pika!" came the mouse's muffled screams from the bag.

"He he..." The man turned to Staraptor next. It's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of the eye sockets, all from just watching Pikachu's capture. "Now birdy, it's you're turn..." The man took slow steps towards the predator pokemon on the ground. If it weren't hurt, Staraptor would have attacked him mercilessly by now, or at least fly away to tell its trainer and the others. But, Staraptor was hurt, so it couldn't do either of those things. All it could do was just wait to be put into the trash bag.

* * *

The ex-Team Rocket trio were in the building's bottom floor now, where all of the chambers were, the ones that kept prisoners locked up. They were planning to shove Dawn into one of the chambers, who was still trapped inside the net James had hauled over his shoulders.

"Argh! Just let me out already! Let me out you cowards!" Dawn was thrashing around in the bag, still trying to get out. Even though she knew that she couldn't break out of the bag, Dawn still tried.

"The twoipette is _**still**_ tryin' to destroy the net!" remarked Meowth. "Just look at her!"

Jessie bent down and looked into the net with Dawn inside. "Let me out!" shouted Dawn as she tried clawing at Jessie. The magenta haired woman was really lucky the blue haired girl was in the net, or else she would have many scratches on her face by now.

"James, we should hurry up...I don't think this net can hold much longer..." she said.

"Don't worry. This net is really strong. I doubt she'll break it, or even come close to it. Besides, we're almost at the last chamber." An idea by Jessie, she told James and Meowth that it was better to put Dawn at the last chamber all the way at the end of the hallway, because it took longer to get to. So here they were, going up to the last chamber and planning to dump her in there.

The trio took about ten more steps before the last chamber came into view. "I see the chamber! We're almost there!" spoke Meowth happily. Dawn narrowed her eyes at the scratch cat pokemon. _You wouldn't be so happy if you were me..._

A little more and the trio were finally standing right in front of the chamber. They all stared into the dark cold room, as the steel door of the chamber was wide open.

"We're finally here..." mumbled James. "We're at the last chamber. It looks darker than the rest of the chambers..."

"Alright, just throw the twerpette into the darkness already so we can get out of here!" Jessie shivered. "The chamber is freaking me out..."

"Exactly. And how would the twerpette feel if she was put in there?" asked James. "I know that we have to lock her up, but I think we should put her in one of the more illuminated rooms. Wouldn't you say?" Once again, James being soft. He has always been known as the only one with a heart in the trio. Meowth sometimes. Jessie...rarely.

"Look, we're not here to give the twerpette luxury you know? We're here to lock her up!" snapped Jessie as she snatched the net off James' hands. _You wouldn't be giving me luxury even if I were locked up in another chamber _Dawn irritatingly thought.

Jessie opened a hole in the net and then tossed it into the dark and cold chamber. "Don't you dare try to escape twerpette!" told Jessie as she shut the steel door roughly, resulting in a loud 'CLANG!'.

Using the hole Jessie opened in the net, Dawn crawled out from the inside of the constricting net. _At least Jessie allowed me to get out from the net. Maybe she isn't __**as**__ bad as I thought..._

Dawn stood up and glanced around at the chamber. It was very dark, almost as dark as the night, since very little light was reaching the room. Dawn could only just see what everything was in the chamber. Well, there was basically nothing to see in the place, it was practically empty. The cracked walls that were the room's boundaries, the rough floor and ceiling, and the pile of hay in the corner, that's all there was. And the smell...it smelt like the sewers.

_This place doesn't seem so well kept...it seems as though the cleaners are really lazy... _Dawn laid onto the pile of hay, with her arms behind her head, facing up at the ceiling. The place made the blue haired girl feel really uncomfortable, but she decided that she could last in there for a while. At least until her friend came to rescue her...that is if they were even coming. _Guys...take as long as you want to rescue me...I don't mind...as long as it's not too long... _Dawn then shifted her gaze to the steel door. Looking at it, one thing popped up into her mind. Ash. She was sadly wondering when she'd see him again. Or even if she'd see him at all ever again. _I hope I get to see you again...Ash... _She placed a fist onto her heart.

* * *

The ex-Team Rocket trio was walking up the stairs, going back up to the ground level of the building.

"Hey Meowth, do you still have that radar of ours?" asked Jessie.

Meowth had no clue what the magenta haired woman was talking about, so he proceeded to ask, "Radar? What radar?" The scratch cat pokemon even raised an eyebrow.

"The one million dollar radar you brought with us, remember?" said Jessie, trying to make Meowth recall what it was. A few more seconds of silence from the cat. "Don't tell me you've actually lost the radar." Jessie, judging by Meowth's actions, assumed so, making her fear...that they've lost one million dollars.

Meowth pondered hard. _Now what in the woild could Jessie be talkin' about... _Meowth thought for a few more seconds before shouting out, "Aha! I remember now!" This action surprised Jessie and James, making them jolt backwards a little.

"So you still have the radar?" asked Jessie, as a wave of relief washed over her.

"Well of course Jess! I would never lose it!" Meowth started searching himself for the item Jessie was asking about. He felt his back, his front, his arms, his legs, his face, and found nothing. Nothing other than a ball of wool that is.

"So where is it?" asked Jessie.

Meowth feared. He had to tell the truth now, that he didn't know where it went. Him knowing Jessie, she would give him a slap right across the face for losing it. So the cat considered lying about it, but then decided that she'd eventually find out anyways. So Meowth firmly settled himself to tell Jessie the truth.

"You wanna know da trut'?" began Meowth stupidly.

Jessie furrowed her eyebrows. "Of course I want to know the truth." With Meowth's question, she could already sense bad news. Everyone started off in a similar way when there was bad news it seemed.

"Well Jess...the truth is...dat...dat...dat...dat..." Meowth couldn't bring himself to say it. He simply couldn't. Having lost a one million dollar radar, he just couldn't say it. Who could though? It's _**one million dollars**_.

It was now that Meowth regretted bringing the thing with him on the mission. If only he had left it...

"'That' what Meowth? Just spit it out already!" Jessie spoke irritably. She wanted the answer and she wanted it now.

"Well...dat..." The cat saw Jessie glare threateningly at him. _I'm going to die... _"Dat...dat..." Meowth sighed. "Ok...I've lost da radar...and I'm really sorry Jess..."

"You...what?" Jessie asked, just to make sure she heard right. She was hoping not, but...

"I've lost da radar Jess...and I'm really sorry..." Jessie instantly flared up inside. She was really angry with Meowth. How the hell could he have gone ahead and lost a one million dollar item?

"YOU LOST IT?! YOU REALLY LOST IT?!" yelled Jessie, loud enough for the whole building to hear. She seemed to have lost something as well. Her calm.

"Jess, I said I'm sorry," said the now frightened Meowth, backing off a step.

"Sorry? SORRY?! How is that going to get our radar back? Just think about it Meowth!" yelled Jessie furiously. The magenta haired woman was even thinking about pulverizing the cat. That was how angry she was.

"Calm down Jess, there's no need to get angry..." James tried to convince. He knew that he failed once Jessie faced him with a savage glare.

"Why shouldn't I get angry?! We've just lost one million dollars! And thanks to that useless kitty," she pointed an accusing finger at the scratch cat pokemon. "Those twerps will know where this secret base is now!"

"Yeah, but aren't the twerps meant to know where we are?" asked James.

Jessie immediately calmed down. James and Meowth both sighed in relief. "But still..." she mumbled audibly enough for the two males to hear. "One million dollars just to succeed in our mission..."

"Don't worry Jess. Once the twerps are out of the way, our boss' dreams will be more easily realized," reasoned James.

"I guess..."

* * *

"It's still a mystery what that red dot on the radar is...it could be anything for all we know," said Burgh with perhaps a bit of pessimism.

"That's true..." agreed Lenora.

"Hey guys, why are we even trying to figure out what the red dot is? It has nothing to do with our current situation here!" spoke Anna.

"Well I'm pretty sure it does," replied Cilan simply.

Anna raised an eyebrow, thinking that he was talking rubbish. "And how exactly does this relate to our current situation?"

Cilan adjusted his green bow tie. "Well Anna...this radar I'm assuming isn't any of ours, correct?" Everyone just nodded in agreement to Cilan's statement. "And I'm assuming this isn't a crowd member's radar as well."

"Yeah...but it's only an assumption," grumbled Anna.

"I know, but I found this on the center of the battlefield. Right here where I'm standing right now." Cilan pointed to the ground beneath himself.

"Yeah? So?"

"So, if I remember correctly...Jessie, James and Meowth were actually flying directly above this area of the arena."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means that it might be theirs..."

"Wait a minute..." spoke up Ash.

Everyone turned their attentions to him.

"What is it Ash?" asked Cilan.

"It's about that red dot on the radar. I'm actually thinking that it could be pointing out their position on the map. I know it's only a thought but..."

Burgh placed a finger onto his chin thoughtfully. "I'll tell you guys what? I think Ash might actually be correct."

"You know what? I think so as well..." Cress nodded softly.

"Yeah. I'm actually sure Ash is correct," said Lenora with a smile. "The radar shows that the red dot is south from here right?" She pointed directly at the dot on the map. "Well if my memory is correct, the trio flew south as well."

"Ha! I'll tell you what Ash? That is actually the most clever thing you've said!" said Iris teasingly. She even had that grin on her face.

"Gee, thanks..." mumbled Ash.

"Come on then. What are we waiting for? Let's go!" gestured Max.

_Alrighty...if what I said is right, it'll mean that we'll be rescuing Dawn in no time. I hope you can hang in there for a little more, because we're just about to start Operation Rescue Dawn! _A small grin grew onto Ash's face as he and the rest followed Max out of the arena.

* * *

**R&R?**


	14. Operation Rescue Dawn Pt 2!

**I'm sorry for the long update...I've been busy with homework and stuff...so yeah...**

**And I feel that this isn't my best work...I might come back and try to edit this.**

**Oh, and I apologise for not warning people about spoilers from the previous chapters. I will also warn people for spoilers of the anime/games that might pop up in the future.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

* * *

**Previously...**

A quick flash of a red light hit Cilan directly on the left eye, making him place his hand in front of his eye as shield. _What was that?! _He put down his arms and stared closely at the center of the battlefield.

There, Cilan spotted an item he didn't realize earlier. It was a black circular digital device, with a green screen on the center. Some sort of long antenna was also attached to the top of the device, the small bulb on the tip flashing red every few seconds. Cilan immediately became aware that it was the thing that flashed red onto his eye. The green haired man had never been more sure in his life.

"That's it!" cried Cilan excitedly. His loud voice snapped everyone else out of thinking and made them all look at him.

* * *

"So why have you called us out here dear brother?" asked Cress as they all joined Cilan on the center of the battlefield. The green haired man had his front faced towards them and his arms behind his back. He hiding something from their sights no doubt, waiting for them all to gather before revealing it.

"Hey Cilan, are you hiding something behind your back?" asked Ash. A pretty stupid question he asked too, wasn't it that obvious? Everyone else found it so, other than Ash that is.

"Well no duh!" said Iris as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Well it wasn't for Ash.

* * *

"Wait a minute..." spoke up Ash.

Everyone turned their attentions to him.

"What is it Ash?" asked Cilan.

"It's about that red dot on the radar. I'm actually thinking that it could be pointing out their position on the map. I know it's only a thought but..."

Burgh placed a finger onto his chin thoughtfully. "I'll tell you guys what? I think Ash might actually be correct."

"You know what? I think so as well..." Cress nodded softly.

"Yeah. I'm actually sure Ash is correct," said Lenora with a smile. "The radar shows that the red dot is south from here right?" She pointed directly at the dot on the map. "Well if my memory is correct, the trio flew south as well."

* * *

**And now let the thirteenth chapter begin!**

* * *

"You guys just make sure they are captured. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir, that is clear!"

"I'm glad to hear that, because I will not allow failure." And with that, the face on the communication device disappeared, returning the screen to its blank light-blue colour.

The grunt pocketed the device before walking up to his chatting comrades. "Hey men, I'm back." They all turned their attentions to the speaker.

"So, what did the boss say to you?" asked one of the grunts.

"He just told me not to fail in this, and to make sure that we capture those kids, as well as anyone else who are with them."

One grunt smirked. "Seriously? The boss really didn't need to call you up for just that. We will undoubtedly have the targets all tied up and delivered to him by midnight." The grunt's smirk grew into a wicked one. "That is if they even come at all. I bet those meatheads are too scared."

"Don't worry...they'll come. I know they will!"

* * *

"Are you sure that's a good idea Meowth? To me, it sounds a little too...simple."

"Don't sweat it James! It may sound simple but when da time comes, you'll see. It'll work like a charm!"

The lavender haired man, despite Meowth's words, still felt a little uncertain about the plan. About whether or not it would work, let alone like a charm.

A sigh was let loose.

"Don't worry about it James." The said man brought his face up and looked at Jessie. "Meowth's idea is going to succeed," she continued. "Because...if it doesn't, he's going to have to face the consequence, and you and I both know that he is well aware of it."

All James did was silently nod before returning his gaze back to the ground._ I just hope Meowth's plan will work...for his own sake._

* * *

"Cilan, Iris. Are you guys there?" Anna whispered into the walkie-talkie.

There was silence, nothing at all coming in from the other side. That meant there no answer.

"Cilan, Iris. Are you guys there?" Anna repeated, slightly louder this time.

There was still no answer coming in.

Anna's patience was wearing really thin. She never had much though, so it wasn't a rare occurrence. "Cilan! Iris! Are you guys there?!" She repeated once more, with an irritated and harsh tone of voice. It was a wonder how no grunts out on guard heard.

Despite that though, she still didn't receive an answer. It was as if Cilan and Iris had died or something. Although, Anna knew that her friends weren't dead. Or were they?

The possibility of death was soon erased from her mind as she heard a familiar voice coming through the walkie-talkie.

"Mmm! This bread is awesome Cilan! Where'd you get it? I really want to know!" Upon hearing those words, relief washed over Anna like a tidal wave. However, she was also tossed into a state of utter confusion. Since when did Iris like bread so much? She was even asking Cilan where he got it from. More importantly though, why were the two just chilling and eating? They were on a mission here. A potentially dangerous one too. There was no time to be relaxing.

"Well Iris-" Cilan was in the middle of speaking when Anna abruptly cut him off.

"What in the world are you two doing?! You guys are meant to be informing me of activity around the building's entrance!" yelled Anna angrily.

Unfortunately this time, Anna's loud and furious voice didn't go unnoticed by the grunts.

"I heard something from the bushes!" said a grunt. "It sounded like a voice! Somebody must be there!"

"I'll go check!" said another grunt. "The rest of you guys stay here!"

Anna felt a nudge on her arm. "What have you done?! We're going to be found out now!" whispered Rose, who had been silent beside Anna the whole time.

The brunette (Anna) rubbed her arm. "I know that!" she spoke roughly.

Rose recoiled back a bit. "Geez...are you always like this Anna?" she asked with a frown.

Anna looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously?" The two girls were the best of friends. How on Earth could Rose ever forget Anna's attitude?

Rose stared at Anna for a bit before coming into realization. She slapped herself on the forehead. "Why did I even ask...I've known you for what seems like my whole life. Of course you're always like this!"

"Girls, watch out, I see someone headed over to your bushes!" Came Cilan's sudden voice through the walkie-talkie.

Anna glared down at the communication device lying on the grass below. _I know what's coming next... _thought Rose.

The brunette snatched the walkie-talkie off the ground and placed it near her lips. "Don't you think I know that?!" she hissed, annoyed.

Rose could imagine Cilan jumping up in surprise on the other side. She felt a bit sorry for him, having to receive Anna's angry words when he was only warning them.

"Hello there girls!" came a wicked voice. Both of them, surprised, snapped their heads up to the newcomer.

"Welcome!" He formed a smile that matched his voice. "I'm glad that the two of you came here tonight!" The man took a step out from behind the bushes he was in, revealing to the pair his tall stature.

"Why? Because it's all part of our plan!" The grunt's lips grew wider, changing into the most evil grin ever that not even a baby would be fooled.

"Well I'll tell you what? You guys are going to have to think up of a new plan!" Anna smirked. "Why? Because whatever it is you guys are planning, it's not going to work!" said Anna. She formed two fists with her hands beside her.

Rose stared down at them. Upon seeing them, she noticed they were all white and tightly clenched. _Uh oh. I know what's in store for this man...and it isn't good._

* * *

"Now you two. Do you have any idea where the power generator for this building might be?" asked Misty.

May shook her head, and so did Max.

"COME ON GUYS?! YOU SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW?!" yelled Misty, with as much ferociousness as a wild tornado.

May raised an eyebrow at the red head. "You don't actually expect us to know right? I mean, it's meant to be some sort of secret headquarters anyways. Hence the word 'secret'."

"Misty, quite down a little. Before someone finds us," spoke Max.

"Whatever!" Misty crossed her arms and faced away.

The glasses boy gave a small, amused chuckle before holding up a pair of binoculars to his eyes and staring through them.

What he spotted was just a lively guard having a happy chat with another guard. Max couldn't really tell what they were talking about, since he was too far, but it seemed like it was about an interesting topic. To the lively one at least. The other guard looked very miserable, having his hand on head like he had had enough.

Max, who failed to think up of any benefits from watching two guards talk, averted his binoculars away from them.

Max then found himself staring at the area around the back entrance of the headquarters, noticing a sea of unconscious bodies scattered on the ground. _There must've been some sort of rampage or something...and I bet I know who was responsible for it._

* * *

The long and cold corridors inside the building were filled with darkness. It only welcomed the tiniest amounts of light, allowing for the slightest view on everything. That was enough though. That was all the three infiltrators needed to keep on moving.

They were running as quickly as they could, as fast as their legs would allow them, being sure to also look out for and avoid any surveillance cameras along the way. In the corridors, it was dead silent as well. The only things that were making noise were the light footsteps of the three people.

"We finally got in guys, but since we don't know our way around this place, we're going to get lost pretty easily."

"Don't worry Lenora, I'm sure we'll come up with something to help us navigate our way around..."

The three were just running through an intersection when one of them spotted an enemy. It was pretty faint but they also saw the item that he had in possession. A map of the place. How convenient.

One of the three pounced at the lone enemy, pinning him onto the ground. The guy was trying to release himself from the pin down with all his strength, but to no avail.

"You're so lucky I'm not going to hurt you. You lowlife." The map was roughly snatched off of the original possessor's hands. The new possessor smiled to himself as he briefly studied the paper. "Heh. You're little map is mine now."

"Come on Burgh. Get out of that awkward position and let's go already!"

He looked back down at the pinned down man, and noticed the scared expression that he wore. Burgh smirked. "I'll be off now, lowlife. Take care."

And with that, he got up and ran off with the other two.

* * *

"Max! May! Misty! Are any of you there? We had some luck on our side. There is a map that we are in possession of. The map of the enemy headquarters. It's all thanks to this that we know where everything is now."

May smiled at the good news. "Great!"

She was just about to grab the walkie-talkie, but was beaten by Misty, who quickly snatched it up from the ground before her.

"Awesome! So do you know where their electricity generator is now?" Misty replied in an overly excited tone.

May sweatdropped. "Since when did Misty ever get this excited?"

The brown haired girl suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Max. "May. I'm sorry, but I couldn't locate where the electric generator is," the glasses boy spoke with a frown.

"That's fine Max. The gym leaders have found a map that could tell us where it is."

Max wiped his forehead and sighed in relief. "I'm glad." He then looked down at the binoculars he had in his hand. "And since we don't need this anymore...I guess I can just throw it away."

"Yeah...I guess..." smiled May. But as soon as she realized what her brother said, her eyes widened. "Wait Max! Don't throw it away!" But it was too late. Max already tossed it away. Actually, it was more of a hurl, seeing how far it was going. _Seriously? Was it really necessary for Max to throw it that far? Like what is he trying to do? Get us all caught? _May's eyes widened even more; it seemed like her eyes were going to pop out of their eye sockets.

She took a hurried glanced at the flying binoculars, and then looked down at where the piece of equipment was headed for. The enemy building. To be more precise though, the thing was headed straight for one of the windows.

"Oh my Arceus Max! What have you done?!" Immediately after that, the sound of breaking glass was heard from the distance, followed by the blaring of alarms.

"Max, you-"

"What?! What did you say? The alarms went off?" Misty said into the walkie-talkie. "Ok. Ok. I got it. Alright then, good luck." Misty put down the communication item and looked at her two friends.

"So what did they say? Do you know where the electricity generator is now?" asked May.

"Yeah, they told me where it is." Misty then frowned.

May raised an eyebrow. "Why are you frowning?"

"That sound I'm hearing. It's so annoying. What is it?"

May casted a sideward glance at her younger brother. "It's the alarms."

Max caught his sister's glance and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh...so that's what it is..." Misty mused.

"Now come on. We need to get going and shut off the electricity generator. It'll cut off this horrible racket too."

* * *

"Huh? What could've possibly triggered the alarms to go off?" wondered Rose.

"Mmm!" came a muffled voice from behind. "Mmm! Mmm!"

Anna turned around. "Shut it you!" she barked.

Poor grunt. The girls have tied him up to a tree using a really thick rope they had with them. Also, they ripped out some duct-tape and stuck it over his mouth, which was why he couldn't speak at all, but only make muffled sounds.

"Mmm!" the man muffled again, showing that he was really defiant. Or maybe he just wasn't scared of Anna.

"Quiet! Or else I have my Espeon hurt you!"

The psychic type pokemon growled, showing its hostility towards the tied-up man. That threat seemed to work, as the man shut up.

Anna smirked and arrogantly dusted her hands together. "Now that's better," she contently commented.

Then her face transformed back into a dead serious one. "Now Rose..." She peeked at the front entrance through the bushes. What she saw was a soulless area. Not a single person in sight. "The coast is clear. I think we should be going now."

Rose nodded her head and followed Anna out from behind the bushes, leaving the man tied up against the tree all alone.

* * *

"Now Iris," said Cilan. "I guess since the alarms are on, now would be the time to send out jamming signals." The green haired man grabbed out the radar that was in his pocket. "It's a good this they made this a 2-in-1 radar and jamming device!" He flipped the device around and began searching for a switch.

Iris watched Cilan with confusion. "Hey Cilan, why was it that we needed to activate the jamming device again?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

Cilan stopped and looked up at Iris. "Well Iris, don't you remember when we all came up with the plan?"

**Start of Flashback**

"So what part do we get to play in this rescue operation?" asked Iris all too enthusiastically.

"Cilan. Iris," said Cress as he put an arm onto each of their shoulders. "In this operation, you two will be keeping watch outside. The job is to report any activity that occurs outside of the building."

"Yeah, but that sounds boring!" whined Iris, like a little kid. "I don't want to keep watch outside!"

The blue haired man smiled at Iris' childish act. "Other than that though, you two will also be doing something else..."

The words skyrocketed the level of Iris' interest. "What?"

Cress laughed an amused laugh. "Well Iris, you and Cilan will also be the ones to activate the jamming device when the time is right."

"The jamming device?" asked Iris, confused.

Cress nodded. "Yeah. Cilan somehow found a function that allows the radar to also become a jamming device. Neat huh?"

Iris' already confused face became even more confused, if that was even possible. "And why would we need to activate the jamming device? It sounds kinda useless."

Iris' words took aback the water type gym leader. "No, it isn't useless." He smiled once again. "In fact, it is one of the most vital things we must do in order to ensure the success of this mission. You see, by activating the jamming device, it'll send out jamming signals, blocking any communications the enemy will try to use."

"And this is important because...?" Iris spoke, urging him to continue.

"Because, it'll prevent them from calling any reinforcements. They already outnumber us, we don't need to be outnumbered even more than necessary."

Iris' face lit up into a bright smile, one that was even brighter than the sun. "I guess that is an important part of the plan then! Maybe I will do it!"

Cress raised an eyebrow. "You do mean that you _**will**_ do it, right?"

"Um...yeah. Like you said."

**End of Flashback**

"Now do you remember?" asked Cilan.

Iris thought for a moment before answering. "Oh yeah! I remember now! Sending out jamming signals would prevent enemy reinforcements from being called."

The green haired man smiled and nodded. "That's correct!"

He stared back down at the device in his hands and continued to search for the switch.

A few seconds later, he found the switch and decided to hit it.

Waves of energy began emitting from the device, travelling outwards from the long antenna and into the air around them.

"And that's it!" Cilan placed the device gently onto the grass beneath and smiled. "Now all we need to do is wait!"

Iris felt a little unhappy that that was basically all she got to do in the rescue operation. Being the energetic person she is, she would've liked more to do. _Oh well... _She fell back onto the soft grass and stared up at the stars above.

* * *

"That was easy! We got here with no trouble at all!" remarked Misty, happy that they had finally reached their target spot.

May smiled as she stared at the huge machine a few paces in from of her. "Now all we need to do is destroy the electric generator!" She began fumbling around for a certain pokeball on her belt until her brother raised his hand up as a gesture to stop.

The brown haired girl gazed confusedly at the glasses boy. "Why?"

He turned around and faced his sister with a huge smile. "Let me handle this!" A pokeball in his hands enlarged. "You're forgetting that I'm a trainer too! On my own journey in fact!"

May continued to gaze at her proud brother for a bit before finally saying, "Alright. Very well then."

Max punched the air with his fist. "Alright! Time to show off what my pokemon can do!"

His sister snickered and shook her head. "No wonder he wants to do this..."

The glasses boy grinned as he spoke. "Sceptile, I need your help!" The pokeball soon hit the ground, and with a flash of bright white light, the called lizard-like pokemon appeared.

"Sceptile, if you don't mind, could you destroy the electric generator in front of us with your Leaf Blade?"

The grass type confidently smirked and with an affirmative nod, dashed forward and cut the machine with its glowing arm.

"Um...that attack did absolutely nothing..." spoke Misty after a few seconds of staring at the still-functioning electric generator.

Max beamed. "Are you sure? Because I'm certain the machine will break down right about now." And as if he was psychic, the electric creating equipment broke down with a series of 'Clings' and 'Clangs', ending off with 'Boom!' and the shutdown of every single electricity-reliant object in the entire building.

The two girls exchanged shocked looks, as if the impossible just occurred right before their very eyes, while Max smirked at their expressions and dusted his hands smugly.

"Now that we've destroyed the electric generator, all we need to do is stay here on guard just in case some fool tries to get it running again."

Misty and May merely nodded, due to the temporary inability to speak. Max felt a little offended at their reactions to his display of skill, because he felt that they didn't think he couldn't pull it off. Two years of training would certainly make someone stronger, so it made Max a little mad that they still didn't think he was able.

Suddenly, the sound of yells and orders being issued amongst the enemy was heard. One order that got them preparing for something was 'Go and get the generator up and running again!'.

"Watch out you two. Some of them are coming," notified Max.

Rose and Anna arrived at the front entrance of the enemy base, only to find a sturdy steel door blocking the path inside. Rose immediately tried thinking up of another way in, but then remembered that they had to stick to the plan.

* * *

"Damn!" growled Anna as she hammered her fist onto the hard steel before her. It seemed that taking out her anger on the door was not a smart thing to do, as Anna only brought pain to herself doing so. It was times like these when she wished she was a fighting or fire type pokemon. By now, they would be inside.

"Ouch!" she yelped. Anna shook her pained hands like a madman, as it was her natural reaction to. "Why did I have to hit the steel door for?!"

Rose knew Anna was deeply regretting her actions, but what can she do? She just shrugged and stared back at the towering steel door. Many thoughts ran through Rose's mind as she gazed blankly ahead.

Meanwhile, Anna was searching around nearby for an alternative way to get in from the front, only to find a digital number pad positioned conveniently right beside her on the building wall. She decided that it must be the security system of the front entrance, and like in many movies she's watched in the past, putting in the right numerical code will allow access. The problem for them was that they didn't know the code.

Anna smirked and walked up to the number pad. She thought that if they did not know what the number code was, then it was probably the best idea to guess. Although like in other movies Anna has watched, guessing the code too many times may lead to something bad. This being an evil base they're trying to get into, she didn't want to think of what it could be.

Despite the fact that Rose was deep in thought, she spotted Anna walking up close to the building with the corner of her eye. Rose quickly pivoted around and found her friend pressing mindlessly at a digital screen attached to the wall.

"What are you doing?" whispered Rose, as if she was afraid someone was going to hear. And to prove that was true, she glanced nervously around the area.

"I'm trying to guess the number code for this dumb door," answered Anna, not bothering looking at her friend. Rose knew what this meant because she only ever did something like that when she was really busy and didn't want to be annoyed.

Rose sighed. _I guess I'll just be standing around for a while..._

"And what do you girls think you're doing here?" questioned a stern, yet vaguely familiar female voice.

The two girls slowly turned around to face the speaker.

Once Rose looked at the woman directly, she noticed the piercing hazel eyes staring fiercely back at her. The girl couldn't help but feel that she had seen those eyes somewhere before. She just couldn't remember where though.

"W-who are y-you?" demanded Anna in the most threatening voice she could muster up at the time, which in fact wasn't really that threatening at all.

The woman smirked. "Trying to sound intimidating are we?"

Rose was really deep in thought. Even the smirk she saw looked oddly familiar. Rose decided that it must've been someone she knew. She was absolutely firm with the belief. She briefly scanned through her mental list of people she knew. None of them fit into the criteria she was looking for.

The woman grabbed out a pokeball and it enlarged in her hands. She smiled vilely.

"Jolteon, come out and use Thunder Wave on these two girls!" And the pokeball was thrown.

* * *

"So Ash, where did the gym leaders say the chambers were located again?" asked Jay as he and the cap-wearing boy swiftly ran down the halls of the building.

"They said the chambers were at the underground floor," replied Ash.

Jay thought. "Are you sure Ash? They might not be keeping Dawn in a prison you know. Maybe she's in a test tube or something. She might get experimented on." The ebony haired boy shuddered. "I wouldn't like to think about what types of experiments they would perform."

"Well I'm pretty confident that they would be keeping her in a prison cell," spoke Ash.

Jay recognized the lack of confidence that was blended into his voice. He could tell that deep inside, Ash thought he himself wasn't right. Jay knew that Ash was only trying to convince himself.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. _At least we're aiming for somewhere._

* * *

Ash and Jay soon arrived at the underground floor, where all the chambers were. The two gasped at the sight ahead of them. A seemingly never-ending hallway consisting of lined-up prison cells on both sides.

Jay blinked, and then groaned. "Do we seriously need to look into all these chambers?"

Ash could see that Jay didn't really want to look through every single cell one by one, as he had an irritated expression on. The cap-wearing boy tried to think up of another less time-consuming method of looking through every prison cell in the floor, but came up with no ideas.

With a sigh, Ash answered. "Yeah. It seems that we'll have to do that..."

* * *

**They'll be a third part to this rescue thingy...**

**Also, tell me how I can improve.**


End file.
